Ada Hegerberg Named 2018 Ballon D'or Winner For The Women

Lyon and Norway striker Ada Hegerberg marked a "huge step for women's football", becoming the first female Ballon d'Or winner in Paris. In the men's award, Luka Modric broke Messi and Ronaldo's decade-long duopoly.

Ada Hegerberg was rewarded for her prolific form with Champions League winners Lyon as she took the first ever women's Ballon d'Or prize at a ceremony in Paris on Monday.

The 23-year-old who has won three Champions League crowns, four French championships and three French Cup titles, saw off competition from VfL Wolfsburg and Denmark's Pernille Harder who finished just six votes shy of Hegerberg in a vote by 45 journalists from around the world.

"I want to say thanks to my teammates because this would not have been possible without them, my coach or our president Jean-Michel Aulas," she told the star-studded audience.

Hegerberg: "It's all about how we respect women's football"

Hegerberg, who scored a tournament-record 15 goals for Lyon in the Women's Champions League last season, called the award "a huge step for women's football." However, she also expressed frustration about living "in such a man's world" and said the award will not make her reconsider her refusal to play for Norway because of her unhappiness over perceived inequality.

"A lot of things need to be done to make the conditions better for women who play football," she said. "It's all about how we respect .

women's football. I don't think the respect has been there. Sometimes you have to take tough decisions to stay true to yourself. I wish the national team the best, though. We just follow two different paths at the moment. I have no regrets with the decision I made."

However, Hegerberg's sentiments were somewhat overshadowed by an inappropriate comment made by French DJ Martin Solveig, who asked the striker about twerking.