Three WSL stars nominated amongst BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2025 candidates

21st October 2025 Oliver Taliku
Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo have both been nominated for Women’s Footballer of the Year

The five nominees for BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2025 have been announced, with three WSL players making the cut. 

Although she is favourite to win Sports Personality of the Year, Chloe Kelly hasn’t been nominated for Women’s Footballer of the Year at this year’s awards.

BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2025 nominees

Hannah Hampton

Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton is nominated for this year’s award and she is looking to become just the second goalkeeper to win the prize after Mary Earps in 2023.

Hampton has had a historic campaign in 2025 as she won the inaugural Yashin award following her heroics at Euro 2025.

The 24-year-old came up huge as England won back to back European Championships. The Lionesses looked like they were heading out of the competition on more than one occasion in summer, but Hampton came out on top in two penalty shootouts to save her nation.

As well as her clutch moments at the Euros, Hampton proved to be an impenetrable wall whenever she stepped onto the pitch.

The goalkeeper also enjoyed a near-perfect domestic year as Chelsea went invincible in the league to win their sixth straight WSL title.

Hampton won the WSL Golden Glove as Chelsea kept 13 clean sheets and conceded just 13 goals in 22 league games.

Mariona Caldentey

The first of two Arsenal players amongst the nominees is Spanish superstar Mariona Caldentey.

Caldentey was one of the most important parts of the Gunners’ Champions League run last season. Arsenal won the Champions League as they upset Barcelona in the final to win the tournament for the first time in history.

In 10 Champions League starts last year Caldentey scored seven goals and picked up two assists as she won her third straight European title.

With 14 goal contributions in 21 league appearances last year, Caldentey became the first Spanish player to be crowned WSL Player of the Year.

Caldentey was another WSL star who enjoyed a fantastic summer, but the midfielder had her heart broken for Spain as England shocked the tournament favourites in the final.

The 29-year-old also scored in the final, proving just how good she can be on the biggest stage.

Alessia Russo

While Caldentey had her heart broken in Switzerland, it was Alessia Russo who proved to be the hero for England once more.

The Lionesses looked like they were going to fall at the final hurdle of the Euros but with an hour on the clock Russo scored the biggest goal of her career to date to save her nation.

Caldentey and Russo are hard to separate for the Footballer of the Year award, as Russo also picked up an individual award in the WSL.

Russo was the Golden Boot winner last season with 12 goals in 21 games for Arsenal.

With both players winning the Champions League and an individual accolade, it could be Russo’s European Championship success that edges her ahead of her teammate for BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year.

Aitana Bonmati

There are two players nominated for the BBC award who play their domestic football outside of England.

Aitana Bonmati is leading the way to be named Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2025, after picking up a historic third consecutive Ballon d’Or.

The likes of Caldentey and Russo will definitely feel hard done by not taking home football’s biggest individual award this year.

Russo beat Bonmati in both the Champions League and Euro 2025 final but still wasn’t recognised ahead of the Barcelona midfielder.

Bonmati still enjoyed an incredible year in Spain as Barcelona won the treble with the midfielder consistently showing her class on the ball for both club and country.

Patricia Guijarro

Bonmati’s ever-reliable Spain and Barcelona teammate, Patricia Guijarro is the final nominee for Women’s Footballer of the Year.

Guijarro netted seven goals and grabbed eight assists for Barcelona despite playing a deeper midfield role for the Spanish champions.

Barcelona’s midfield of Guijarro, Bonmati and Alexia Putellas has proved to be not just one of the best this year, but of all-time in women’s football.

It is hard to imagine Guijarro winning footballer of the year ahead of her Ballon d’Or winning teammate but to be nominated for the award alone is a huge honour.

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About Oliver Taliku 296 Articles
Olly Taliku has worked with highly respected sports and gambling websites where he has produced hundreds of articles, as well as being published with Burton Albion and Chesterfield FC. At Burton Olly worked closely alongside the women's team, producing mainly matchday content including reports and interviews. He also has experience as an accredited Premier League and EFL writer for Prost International where he worked during the 2021/22 season to produce matchday content as an on location reporter. Olly specialises in women's football as well as long form SEO content plus news and tips. While he enjoys writing about all football, Olly supports Arsenal passionately as a lifelong fan of the club.

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