The Barcelona star is not the only superstar who is out of the running for the Golden Ball due to an ACL injury, so who will win the 2023 accolade?
After winning the Ballon d’Or Feminin for two years in a row, Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas will relinquish her crown in 2023 after an ACL injury ruled her out of almost the entire 2022-23 season. So, who will succeed her in being named the best women’s player in the world?
The race for the 2023 Golden Ball is intriguing because, like Putellas, many of the game’s best have been sidelined for significant periods with injuries – such as Lyon star Catarina Macario and the Arsenal duo of Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema.
Most of the names in contention at this period come from Europe, too, with the NWSL season in the United States still in its relative infancy. Both that and the 2023 Women’s World Cup will have a major impact on the battle for supremacy in the months to come.
So who is leading the race for the 2023 Ballon d’Or Feminin at the moment? Based on the focus these awards tend to have on the biggest games and competitions, GOAL takes a look at the front-runners…
*Note statistics are correct as of June 6, 2023. Previous update: May 5.
