After winning the Ballon d'Or Feminin for two years in a row, Barcelona's Alexia Putellas relinquished her crown on Monday after an ACL injury ruled her out of almost the entire 2022-23 season. The trophy, though, will not be going anywhere, with Putellas' team-mate for both Barca and Spain, Aitana Bonmati, claiming the crown.
The race for the Golden Ball was intriguing because, like Putellas, many of the game's best were sidelined for significant periods with injuries - such as Lyon star Catarina Macario and the Arsenal duo of Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema, meaning they missed the Women's World Cup and allowed new stars to emerge.
GOAL began tracking the race in March 2022, but by the time Spain lifted the World Cup, it was clear that Bonmati would be picking up the award. Below are our final power rankings - for the official rankings, click here.