Megan Rapinoe wins 2019 women’s Ballon d’Or

United States World Cup icon Megan Rapinoe won the women´s Ballon d´Or prize at an awards ceremony in Paris.

Rapinoe scored six goals in the tournament, earning the Golden Boot as the top scorer and the Golden Ball as the top player.

Lucy Bronze of England finished second in the women’s voting. Rapinoe’s American teammate Alex Morgan was third.

Lionel Messi won the men’s award for the sixth time, a record.

Messi reclaimed the trophy he last won in 2015 a day after scoring his 614th career goal for Barcelona.

Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk was second in the polling, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo, who shared the record of five Ballon d’Ors with Messi until Monday.

France Football magazine has been awarding the Ballon d’Or since 1956.

It created a women’s award last year, when Norway’s Ada Hegerberg won it.

Rapinoe succeeds Norway´s Ada Hegerberg, the inaugural winner of the women´s prize last year, after starring on and off the field as the US retained the World Cup in France in July.

DescriptionMegan Anna Rapinoe is an American professional soccer player who captains Reign FC in the National Women’s Soccer League and the United States women’s national soccer team, playing primarily as a winger.