Ballon d’Or Awards 2023: Jude Bellingham, Vini Jr and Aitana Bonmatí lead the way for LALIGA

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Spanish football's standing among the best has been strengthened as LALIGA players and clubs were the clear favourites at the yearly France Football Awards in Paris for the best players in the game. They also brought home other honours.

The Kopa Trophy for the best performing player under 21 went to Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid. At the tender age of 20, Bellingham is already a global superstar.

He recently guided Borussia Dortmund to the verge of their first Bundesliga title in ten years. Since joining LALIGA EA SPORTS, he has amassed ten goals and two assists in his first ten games, including a game-winning brace in his first-ever ELCLASICO this past weekend.

The prize, which has now been taken home by LALIGA players in each of the last three seasons (Pedri from FC Barcelona in 2021 and Gavi in 2022) made the England international very happy. "This is a fantastic list of players [who have previously won this award]," he remarked. Being in front of some of the greatest players in the world and among the greatest to have ever played the game is an honour. He further stated that "to win this trophy means a lot but for me the important thing is team trophies and the important thing for me is to kick on and help Real Madrid and England win trophies for many years."

Bellingham was not the only Real Madrid player to win at the Paris awards ceremony; Vini Jr. also won the Socrates Award, which honours football players worldwide for their social efforts. The celebrity was given the prize in recognition of his efforts to combat racism and socioeconomic injustice in his native Brazil via his work with the Instituto Vini Jr.

He told Realmadrid TV, "I'm really happy to win this award, to be representing the children of the favelas." "I can provide them with some opportunities, but they don't receive many. To ensure that kids have the opportunity to choose what they want to do with their lives, I want to continue supporting them. We operate across Brazil, and I'd want to assist even outside its boundaries. We are going to begin construction on a new school in my honour that will be free for all kids to attend in January. I'm content and proud.

Aitana Bonmatí, who plays for FC Barcelona, won the Women's Ballon d'Or, capping an incredible year that saw her win the World Cup with Spain, the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player, and the domestic Liga F and UEFA Champions League with Barça, the team she referred to in her speech as her "lifetime club."

After winning the Women's Ballon d'Or in 2021 and 2022, Bonmatí, who is seen as the front-runner for the prize after an incredible 2023, made it three in a row for LALIGA teams, and especially FC Barcelona Femení.

In if the Blaugrana weren't enough, they also took home the Best Women's Team Award, and on the same night, club and LALIGA star Lionel Messi earned a record-tying seventh Men's Ballon d'Or.