Arsenal women’s star Vivianne Miedema claims she ‘didn’t feel appreciated’ at the Ballon d’Or

Vivianne Miedema has slammed the Ballon d’Or for not treating women’s football fairly and focusing more on the men’s game.

Seven awards were handed out at the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony, but only one of them – the Ballon d’Or Feminin – is an award dedicated to women’s football. 

The other six gongs are all awards dedicated to the men’s game, and the Arsenal star says it’s time to make the ceremony a more equal event. 

Miedema attended the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony with team-mate and partner Beth Mead 

‘I didn’t feel appreciated as a woman footballer there,’ she told the BBC’s Behind the Goals podcast.

‘If they want to have women involved, they have to do it in a different way.

‘They had five or six different awards for the men’s game while the women only have one. If they want to make it equal, they have to give the same awards to men’s and women’s football.’

As well as the main Ballon d’Or award, which this year was won by Karim Benzema, there is also the Kopa Trophy for best young male player, the Yashin trophy awarded to best male goalkeeper and the Gerd Muller award for top male goalscorer. 

While the club of the year is spread across both the men’s and women’s game, the Socrates Award, a more humanitarian prize, was also added this year and won by Senegal star Sadio Mane. 

However, none of these have been replicated solely for the women’s game, leaving Alexia Putellas as the only female winner at the 2022 ceremony. 

The Barcelona ace scooped the Ballon d’Or Feminin for the second successive season, pipping England ace Beth Mead, who finished second. 

The two Arsenal stars are currently in a relationship and have posted images together online

Mead is currently in a relationship with Miedema, and they attended the awards ceremony together, yet a picture caption the following day described the pair as Miedema and ‘guest’. 

The Dutch forward says that her and Mead laughed off the gaffe, but it’s another example of how the women’s game can still be disrespected. 

Miedema added: ‘Waking up the next morning and that picture pops up, that states the issue we had the night before.

‘We’ve got the number two from that year, who should arguably have been number one, turning up to the event as ‘my guest’. That would obviously never happen if Messi and Neymar had been walking next to each other.

Miedema is both the WSL’s record goal-scorer and the Netherlands highest-ever goal getter 

‘We obviously joke about it, but that shows there are so many improvements to be made, it needs to be organised so much better.’

The 26-year-old recently returned to the Arsenal side following a request period of time off, where she also missed two international friendlies for the Netherlands. 

She says that players shouldn’t be afraid to ask for time to recharge their batteries if they think it would benefit their game. 

The Arsenal striker took some time off in November and said that more players should rest 

 ‘We’re always expected to go, go, go,’ she said.

‘A lot of players probably don’t feel the freedom to say ‘OK, I do need a break’. I’ve been in a fortunate position to ask for it, to feel confident enough to ask for it, which looking back I should have done way earlier.

‘If it’s not possible to deliver what you need to do at that moment, please take a break or please work with someone on it. Speak about it and don’t feel ashamed. Just take your time and it will come back at one point.’

Miedema is the WSL’s all-time record goal-scorer, with 74 goals and has netted seven times in 14 games so far this campaign.