Putellas wins 2nd straight women's Ballon d'Or

Alexia Putellas made history Monday by becoming the first player to win the women's Ballon d'Or in consecutive years.

"Without my teammates, this would not have been possible," Putellas said, according to Sky Sports. "I want to thank the staff and the coach and everyone involved at Barcelona.

"I'm very happy to be back here and pleased because a year ago I was able to win this prize and it pushed me to want to be even better."

The honor caps off another tremendous year for the Spanish star, who helped Barcelona win the Liga F title and finish runner-up in the Women's Champions League last season.

The 28-year-old was also named the UEFA Women's Player of the Year for the second straight season.

Putellas scored 18 goals in 26 appearances for Barcelona last season before suffering a knee injury in the summer that forced her to miss Spain's Euro 2022 campaign in England.

Arsenal's Beth Mead finished second in voting. Sam Kerr of Chelsea, Lena Oberdorf of VfL Wolfsburg, and Aitana Bonmati of Barcelona rounded out the top five.