In Paris, the red carpet was rolled out and one football great after another was ready for the annual event. At the center of it all was Caroline Graham Hansen. She was among the favorites to win the award, which recognizes the best player from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024. Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmatí drew the longest straw and was named the best footballer of the season. The trophy was presented by star actress Natalie Portman. – This is not something you can do alone. I am so lucky to have amazing players around me who help me grow and become a better player. Thanks to my teammates, without you I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to stand here, says Bonmatí from the stage with the Ballon d’Or placed safely in his hands for the second year in a row. Graham Hansen finished in second place in the prestigious award. Salma Paralluelo, also from Spain and Barcelona, took third place. – No shame in losing to Aitana Bonmatí. A spectacular player. Completely unique. But this year it was really fair to hope for “Caro”… She would also have been a very worthy winner, writes TV 2 sports commentator Mina Finstad Berg on X after the awards. THE TROPHY: Aitana Bonmatí with her second Gullballen trophy. Photo: FRANCK FIFE / AFP Phantom season Graham Hansen has put up with another wild season in 2023/2024. She became the top scorer in Spain for club team Barcelona with a whopping 21 goals in the series. In addition, the 29-year-old scored 19 assists. In the end, she was left with 61 goal points in 43 games, this includes goals and assists in all tournaments. TROPHY LIFTERS: Caroline Graham Hansen lifts the visible proof that Barcelona won the Champions League for the 23/24 season. Photo: Jose Breton / AP – Everything has gone the right way. It has been very fun to be with her about it, said Ingrid Syrstad Engen to news only hours before the award. Syrstad Engen is teammates with Graham Hansen both in Barcelona and on the national team. The Norwegian woman was strongly involved in Barcelona winning four out of four titles during last year’s season, including the series and the Champions League. The effort has already been rewarded. She has been named player of the year in the Spanish league and also received the visible proof that she was the division’s top scorer. However, this was the first time Hansen had been nominated for the Ballon d’Or. – Career-changing For women, the prize was awarded for the first time in 2018. At that time, Ada Hegerberg won the prestigious prize, while she came fourth in 2019 and seventh in 2022. In Monday’s award, she finished in 14th place. – What did winning the Ballon d’Or mean to you? – It is career-changing. You can probably just ask my agents which move they have known, said Hegerberg to news before the award ceremony. HISTORICAL: This is what it looked like when Ada Hegerberg won the Ballon d’Or in 2018. This was also the first time the prize was awarded to a woman. Photo: Christophe Ena / AP news was able to learn that Graham Hansen had to take a private plane down to the award ceremony in Paris to get the award. The Norwegian national team already plays a match against Albania on Tuesday evening, and thus a private flight back to Norway awaits the Norwegian top scorer. Hours before departure, national team coach Gemma Grainger said that the nerves were under control for the protagonist. – She (Graham Hansen) is very relaxed. This morning she focused only on training. I wished her lots of luck just before she left. We are excited about the result and will follow tonight, Grainger told news. Last year, Guro Reiten was the only Norwegian woman nominated. She was number 19. Last year’s winner Aitana Bonmatí, who is a teammate of Hansen, repeated the feat from 2023 and was also named the season’s best player for the 2023/2024 season. Haaland among the favorites – was in Malmö On the men’s side, Arsenal and Norway captain Martin Ødegaard ended up in 19th place among the world’s best footballers. It was an improvement from 2023, when he finished 28th in the ranking. MIDBANEMAESTRO: Martin Ødegaard has directed and wreaked havoc for Arsenal. The effort was rewarded as the world’s 19th best footballer. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB One who was a much bigger favorite was compatriot Erling Braut Haaland. Among the bookmakers, he was evenly tipped for 7th place, but eventually ended up in 5th place in the selection. During last year’s season, which is used as the basis for the award, he had a total of 45 net recognitions for the club team. – What is football about? It’s about winning matches. How do you win matches? You score goals. Who is the world’s best goalscorer as of today? I personally have for several years, including when we were on the national team together, Erling Braut Haaland. He deserves the Ballon d’Or, Haitam Aleesami told news before the award. BIG STAR: Goal machine Erling Braut Haaland is on everyone’s lips. On Monday night, he was one of the favorites to win the Ballon d’Or. Photo: Dave Thompson / AP Haaland came second in the award last year, which is the highest position for a Norwegian man in the award, which was awarded for the first time in 1956. Haaland was respectively number ten in 2022 and number eleven in 2021. It was revealed early on that Haaland did not win the Ballon d’Or. The protagonist himself was present in Malmö to see his close friend Erik Bothheim win the Swedish series with Malmö. IN SWEDEN: Erling Braut Haaland and father Alfie Haaland in place in the stands in Malmö. Photo: Andreas Hillergren / NTB/TT Real Madrid boycott The Ballon d’Or awards, as always, also attracts criticism and offers some small scandals. The big talking point of the year was the Real Madrid players’ boycott. Brassen Vinicius Junior (24) was the bookmakers’ favourite, but in the hours before the awards there were leaks which indicated that the 24-year-old was not named player of the year. CURSED: Vinicius Junior never made it to Paris, nor did his Real Madrid teammates. Photo: Susana Vera / Reuters This led to the club canceling the planned trip to Paris. – If the award criteria do not mean that Vinicius wins, the same criteria should point to Dani Carvajal as the winner, Real Madrid writes to AFP. – It is quite clear that the Ballon d’Or and Uefa do not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid is not present where they are not shown respect, says the club. Published 28.10.2024, at 22.14 Updated 28.10.2024, at 22.32
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Caroline Graham Hansen beaten by Aitana Bonmatí in the battle for the Ballon d’Or – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
