England and Arsenal Women's star Beth Mead has responded to her Ballon d'Or disappointment by scooping up the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year award for 2022.
The 27-year-old, despite losing out to Alexia Putellas last month, had an unforgettable year for club and for country. The former Sunderland striker netted 11 times for Arsenal in the Women's Super League last term.
More importantly, Mead won the Golden Boot award, Player of the Tournament and Top Assist Provider at the European Championships as Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses made history on home turf over the summer. And now her feats have been recognised with BBC's prestigious gong.
"I don't think I've quite processed it yet. It's a huge honour for me," she told BBC Sport upon receiving the award at Arsenal's London Colney training ground. "I've just been enjoying my football this season and, for me, these are nice trophies to get hold of but, again, I continue to keep saying it, and it's becoming a cliche now, but I wouldn't have got these without my team-mates throughout the season at Arsenal, throughout the season for the international team."
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Chelsea striker Sam Kerr came second whilst the still currently side-lined Barcelona star Putellas ended up in third place. A complete contrast to the Ballon d'Or rankings at the most recent ceremony in Paris.
“I didn’t think I was that invested in it until I came second and it was so close, by one vote. It was something like 163 points for her and 162 for me [the margin in favour of Putellas was actually 26 votes]," she reflected in an interview with The Guardian in relation to the Ballon d'Or results. "Considering what we did at the Euros, and my individual achievements, I could have won it. But I’m even more hungry to win things now.”
Ellen White presented Mead with the prize and believes she will only go on to bigger and better things. She said: "I think she can go on to score so many goals for England, the sky is the limit for her. What she's achieved in her career so far, and her development, the way that she's so focused on her performance, and what she's doing at Arsenal, I think it's incredible and it bodes well for the England team.
"I've looked up to Beth. What you see is what you get with her she's had a great year and I'm glad she's got the recognition because these are the moments we play for," Leah Williamson followed up.
"When a forward's on fire, like she was during that tournament, it's a good feeling for the team, because you know that as long as you play well enough the time will come or the moment will come. She's been a force of nature for England over the last 12 months."
Mead's partner Vivianne Miedema won the 2021 edition of this award meaning for two consecutive years, Arsenal players have prevailed in this regard. That Ballon d'Or loss now seems like a distant memory for a player who is heavily tipped to follow up this success with a potential BBC Sports Personality of the Year win.
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