Sam Kerr’s stellar year for club and country has been recognized by international football with a fourth consecutive nomination for the game’s most prestigious award, the Ballon d’Or.
Key points:
- Sam Kerr is one of just four players to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or in every edition since its inception in 2018
- The Matildas skipper finished third in the last edition, which was won by Spain captain Alexia Putellas
- Her nomination comes after yet another Golden Boot-winning season with Chelsea as well as becoming Australia’s all-time leading goal scorer
The Matildas captain was announced as part of the 20-person short-list on Saturday alongside names such as Dutch striker Vivianne Miedema, English winger Beth Mead, German veteran Alexandra Popp, inaugural winner Ada Hegerberg, and current holder Alexia Putellas.
The nomination comes after yet another stand-out campaign for Chelsea where Kerr finished the 2021/22 Women’s Super League season as the top scorer for a second consecutive year, scoring 20 goals for the Blues on their way to retaining the league title.
The 28-year-old also scored two crucial goals — including an extra-time winner — against Manchester City at Wembley in May to win back-to-back FA Cups.
His performances in the league saw Kerr become the first Australian to win England’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year in June, alongside being named the WSL Player of the Season and voted the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year.
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Kerr had a record-breaking year in the green-and-gold, too, becoming Australia’s all-time leading goal-scorer in February when she surpassed Tim Cahill’s record of 50 during the Asian Cup. She won that tournament’s Golden Boot with seven goals , with her current tally sitting at 59 in 110 games.
The striker is one of just four players to have been nominated in every edition of the Women’s Ballon d’Or, which began in 2018, ranking fifth, seventh, and third respectively.
Kerr is also the only player from the Asian Football Confederation to be short-listed for the 2022 award, with the list largely dominated by European players who starred at the recent Women’s European Championships.
Fourteen of the 20 nominated players come from the UEFA confederation, while Africa (Asisat Oshoala) and South America (Christiane Endler) have one each. The United States has four nominees, including the youngest in 20-year-old Trinity Rodman.
In the men’s category, seven-time winner Lionel Messi missed out completely for the first time since 2005, as did his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate, Neymar.
Instead, France striker Karim Benzema leads the short-list after winning the La Liga and Champions League double with Real Madrid, finishing as top scorer in Spain with 27 goals.
He’s joined on the 30-player list by Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah, England striker Harry Kane, Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, new Barcelona recruit Robert Lewandowski, and new Manchester City signing Erling Haaland.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony on October 17.
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