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Spain's Alexia Putellas has joined Lionel Messi and Ronaldo Nazario on an elite list of footballers to have won the FIFA World Cup and multiple Ballon d'Or awards.
Franz Beckenbauer of Germany was the first to accomplish the feat after he won the Ballon d'Or for the second time in 1976. He won it for the first time in 1972 and went on to lift the World Cup trophy with West Germany two years later.
Ronaldo Nazario, meanwhile, won the 1994 World Cup with Brazil at the age of 17 and won the 2002 edition while finishing as the tournament's top scorer. The former Barcelona and Real Madrid striker won the Ballon d'Or in 1997 and 2002.
Lionel Messi became the latest men's player to achieve the feat. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner finally got his hands on the World Cup trophy in December 2022 with Argentina.
Putellas (29) is the first women entrant on the list. The Barcelona Femeni midfielder won the Ballon d'Or feminin award in 2021 and 2022 and lifted the Women's World Cup with Spain on Sunday (August 20) in Australia.
Spain beat England 1-0 in the final, where Putellas was a second-half substitute. From an individual perspective, she had a tournament to forget, managing no goals and one assist in seven appearances.
Two of Putellas' three starts in the competition came in the group stage. In her defence, she had entered the tournament on the back of a long-term knee injury that sidelined her for 10 months before her return in late April.
Lionel Messi not thinking about Ballon d'Or after FIFA World Cup win
No player in the history of the sport has more Ballon d'Or wins than Lionel Messi. For many, he is one of the frontrunners to win it for the eighth time later this year.
However, it isn't something that's occupying the 36-year-old's mind at the moment. He said in the DRV PNK Stadium's interview room earlier this month (h/t Sporstar):
"It’s (Ballon d'Or) a very important prize because it’s a great recognition. But I am not thinking of it so much. You know, the most important thing is to win trophies as a team."
Lionel Messi's record is under no threat. Cristiano Ronaldo (38) is well past his prime years and has won the award five times — only the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain playmaker has more.
After winning the Ligue 1 with PSG last season, Messi is now setting the USA alight with his performances. He has scored 10 goals and provided an assist in seven games since moving to Inter Miami earlier this summer.
