Lieke Martens earns Best FIFA Women's Player prize

Lieke Martens was handed the 2017 Best FIFA Women's Player award at Monday's ceremony in London.

The 24-year-old overcame competition from Deyna Castellanos and Carli Lloyd to collect the honour, succeeding the latter as the world's greatest player. Before Martens' achievements were recognized, Sarina Wiegman was presented with the Best FIFA Women's Coach hardware after guiding the Netherlands to glory in the 2017 UEFA Women's Championship.

Martens was a protagonist of that victorious run of six wins in six matches. The winger, who models her dribbling on Brazilian great Ronaldinho, was devastating throughout the tournament, and scored in August's final to help the Netherlands get the better of Denmark.

There may have been a sigh of relief from Megan Rapinoe when Martens was announced as the award winner. The United States women's national team midfielder was irritated by Castellanos' selection as a nominee - a player Rapinoe claimed to have "never heard of" and a choice indicating "FIFA doesn't really care" about the women's game. Castellanos is yet to represent Venezuela at either senior or Under-20 level.

Related - Rapinoe: Women award nominations show 'FIFA doesn't really care'

Martens currently plies her trade at Barcelona, and has scored four and assisted four in eight competitive outings this season.