The Ballon d’Or ceremony has long been football’s most glamorous night, but for women’s football in 2025, it came with equal parts celebration and controversy.
This year, Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati picked up yet another Women’s Ballon d’Or award, cementing her status as the face of the women’s game.
But amid the individual accolades, questions were raised about how much recognition Arsenal Women truly received after a historic season in which they lifted the Women’s Champions League for the first time since 2007.
A Landmark Year for Women’s Football
The 2025 awards were supposed to feel like a breakthrough. With women’s football commanding record attendances and growing global audiences, there was a sense that the Ballon d’Or could finally reflect the breadth of the sport.
Chelsea‘s Hannah Hampton’s Yashin Trophy win was a landmark, making her the first female goalkeeper ever to claim the award. Bonmati’s triumph also spoke to the continued dominance of Barcelona and Spain on the international stage.
Yet beyond the headlines, the lack of recognition for Arsenal’s achievements left many observers questioning the depth of the voting process.
Arsenal’s Historic Champions League Triumph
Arsenal’s 2025 season was defined by their Champions League run. The Gunners ended an 18-year gap since their first and only European crown in 2007, defeating Lyon in the final to reassert themselves among Europe’s elite.
In a year where English clubs struggled on multiple fronts, Arsenal carried the flag not just for the WSL but for the nation. Players like Alessia Russo, Mariona Caldentey, Frida Maanum, and Lia Walti were instrumental in that journey, yet when the Ballon d’Or nominees were revealed, Arsenal Women’s contingent was noticeably sparse.
Russo and Caldentey made the shortlist, but the wider squad’s accomplishments seemed to fade into the background compared to Barcelona’s star-studded lineup.
The Barcelona Bias?
This cuts to a deeper frustration within women’s football: the sense that certain clubs and nations dominate the conversation regardless of context.
Barcelona’s excellence cannot be questioned, but Arsenal’s Champions League triumph was arguably just as significant in its own right.
While Bonmati’s brilliance merited her award, the lack of multiple Arsenal names in serious contention left supporters feeling the Ballon d’Or panel had defaulted to familiar narratives rather than fully rewarding the season’s biggest story.
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What the Women’s Ballon d’Or Oversight Reveals
The Women’s Ballon d’Or is, by its nature, an individual prize. But when an achievement as momentous as Arsenal’s is reduced to little more than a footnote, it highlights an imbalance.
Women’s football has grown enough to warrant more nuanced recognition – where performances outside Spain or the US are weighed with equal seriousness.
For Arsenal, who battled adversity and silenced doubts on their way to European glory, the minimal representation at the awards felt like an oversight bordering on disrespect.
Looking Ahead
As women’s football continues to expand, the Ballon d’Or will remain both a platform and a test of the sport’s maturity. If 2025 was a year of milestones, it was also one that exposed how far recognition still has to go.
Arsenal’s players may not have received their flowers in Paris, but their triumph on the pitch remains undeniable.
The bigger question is whether the Ballon d’Or voters will eventually catch up to the reality that the women’s game is no longer defined by a handful of clubs – and that respect must be earned through fair recognition, not just familiar names.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / BSR Agency
Recording Date: 24.05.2025
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