Gavi beat both Camaving and Bellingham in the battle for best young man, Putellas again the best female footballer

In addition to the Ballon d’Or award, the France Football gala also handed out awards for the best young player and best female footballer. Both these awards go to Barcelona for Gavi and Alexia Putellas.

The latest winners of the ‘Kopa trophy’ for best young player are Pedri, Matthijs De Ligt and Kylian Mbappé. Pedri was joined in last year’s trio by Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala.

This year, it was Bellingham, who has become an absolutely key player for Dortmund and has the whole of Europe interested in him, who was expected to rise to the top. Jamal Musiala, who has cemented his place in Bayern’s starting line-up, and Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga, who has single-handedly changed the order of the game several times in Champions League knockout matches, were also big favourites.

This trio was completed by Gavi (Barcelona), Adeyemi (Dortmund), Gravenberch (Ajax/Bayern), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Guardiola (Leipzig), Wirtz (Leverkusen) and Saka (Arsenal).

Somewhat surprisingly, however, 18-year-old Gavi won. The Spanish footballer is undoubtedly a player of immense quality and is tipped to be among the elite, however, the general opinion is that Bellingham, Musiala and Camavinga are a bit further away and were more valid for their team last season.

Full rankings:

1. Gavi
2. Camavinga
3. Musiala
4. Bellingham
5. Mendes
6. Guardiola
6. Gravenberch
8. Says
9. Adeyemi
10. Wirtz

Women’s football

There was no doubt about the Women’s Ballon d’Or. Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas defended her triumph. The Catalan captain won the domestic triple (League, Cup, Super Cup) with her club and took her team to the final in the Champions League. In the most prestigious competition, she was named the best player of the Champions League.

Putellas recorded a record of 34 goals and 17 assists in the last edition. However, in the summer, she tore the cruciate ligament in her knee three days before the start of the Women’s European Championship and will not take to the pitch until the end of 2022.

Source: France Football