Barcelona women rewrite history with three nominations on ‘Player of the Year’ stage

Earlier yesterday, the finalists for the Women’s player of the year 2020-21 were announced by UEFA. This year, all the three finalists are from Barcelona Femeni, an accomplishment that will go down as a golden moment in the team’s history.

Alexia Putellas, Lieke Martens, and Jennifer Hermoso are the three Blaugrana stars who will share the prestigious stage on August 26.

✨ Who's going to be the 2020/21 UEFA Women's Player of the Year?

See the full story and the rest of the top 10: ⬇️#UEFAawards

— UEFA (@UEFA) August 19, 2021

The feat is reminiscent of the magical season of 2010 when La Masia had three of its own graduates as the last three standing in the Ballon d’Or race. That year, Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta stood on the podium, and the Argentine went on to win the coveted award.

The nominations come as no surprise, especially given the magical season Barcelona Femeni enjoyed last year. The team were unstoppable on all fronts as they broke record after record.

The women’s side won the domestic league with unforgiving dominance, winning 33 games and losing only one. The side also won the Copa de la Reina for the eighth time.

The biggest accomplishment, however, was securing their first Women’s Champions League crown, which they did convincingly. That also completed the historic treble for the Barcelona women’s team.

Lieke Martens bagged 24 goals and half as many assists in just 37 games last season. Hermoso was on point throughout the season, with 37 goals and 14 assists to her name across all competitions.

In addition to the trio from Catalonia, who finished in the podium positions, Barca Femeni had more representatives in the top 10.

Aitana Bonmati and Caroline Graham finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the race for the best player award. Meanwhile, new signing Irene Paredes finished ninth on the list.

The former coach of the treble-winning team, Lluis Cortes, has also been nominated for the position of Coach of the Year, an award he is the favourite to win.