- Villa's Martinez wins Yashin Trophy
- Argentina keeper shone at World Cup
- Edges out Ederson and Bounou
WHAT HAPPENED? The Argentine claimed the trophy on Monday night following his heroics for Argentina, as they won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The 31-year-old beat, in order, Manchester City's Ederson, Morocco star Yassine Bounou, Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois, Barcelona's Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Cameroon international Andre Onana, Croatia's Dominik Livakovic, Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale, AC Milan's Mike Maignan and Lens' Brice Samba.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Martinez becomes only the fifth winner of this prestigious accolade. Previous winners of the award include Liverpool's Alisson Becker, Paris Saint-Germain's Gianluigi Donnarumma and Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois.
DID YOU KNOW? Only one goalkeeper has ever won the Ballon d'Or: Lev Yashin, in 1963. So, in a bid to ensure more shot-stoppers were recognised at their annual ceremonies in Paris, France Football introduced the Yashin Trophy in 2019 to recognise the best goalkeeper.
IN A PHOTO:
Getty
WHAT NEXT? Martinez's Villa are next in action on Sunday away to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.