After an exceptional season, the FC Barcelona and La Roja player, the new face of world women’s football, was rewarded with a well-deserved Golden Ball.
It could only be her. Big favorite of the ceremony, Aitana Bonmati was awarded the fifth Ballon d’Or in the history of women’s football, Monday October 30, in Paris. Crowned for the first time, at the age of 25, the Spaniard won the greatest individual reward of her career, at the end of a season which projected her into a new dimension.
The announcement of his name on the stage of the Théâtre du Châtelet surprised no one, as his coronation was so announced. This season, the native of Vilanova i la Geltru, about fifty kilometers south of Barcelona, has won everything, at all levels, with FC Barcelona and the Spanish Roja. Champion of Spain after an almost perfect campaign and 28 victories, winner of the Champions League, she also participated in writing history by winning the first world champion title in the history of Spain this summer, in Australia and New Zealand.
Collective trophies and individual awards galore
Centerpiece of Barça and the Spanish selection, indisputable holder in midfield, she played an essential role in the success of her teams. Enough to rain down individual awards: best player of the World Cup, best player of the Champions League season and UEFA player of the 2022-2023 season.
A track record as long as an arm, which left little room for doubt. In a recent interview has Copa90Arsenal stars Beth Mead (2nd in 2022), Vivianne Miedema and Steph Catley immediately cited her as the current best player in the world.
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A major element of her teams for several years, Aitana Bonmati has reached a milestone and exploded in the eyes of the general public this season. At the center of all attention after the serious injury of Alexia Putellas and with a more offensive role on a daily basis in Barça’s tactics, she raised her level of play to meet expectations.
“She’s incredible, she’s a genius. She’s the kind of very rare player, with a unique talent”recognized her selection captain and club teammate, Irene Paredes, after the round of 16 of the World Cup against Switzerland, perhaps her best match of the Oceanian adventure. His ease at the highest level left no one indifferent. “Aitana has something about her that no one else has, she’s different.”Spanish goalkeeper Cata Coll marveled after this same round of 16, while Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola, one of his childhood heroes, proclaimed himself “lover” of her game, and compared her to Andrés Iniesta.
Global symbol of women’s football
Powerful leader on the field, Aitana Bonmati is also a voice outside. Engaged among “Las 15”, the group of players who had slammed the door of the selection to demand changes and better conditions, she publicly defended her teammate Jenni Hermoso after the forced kiss affair involving the ex-president of the federation, Luis Rubiales, and more broadly supported all women victims of sexism in the world. A strong head that she claims to have inherited from her parents, who fought to change Spanish law in order to give her her mother’s last name, the one that entered the hearts of all supporters.
Brand new Golden Ball in hand, Aitana Bonmati is also a symbol of a new force in women’s football. A pure product of Barça, which she joined at 13 through La Masia and which she never left, she succeeds her teammate Alexia Putellas, and brings her club and its selection their third Ballon d’or in five editions. She leads a contingent of six Barcelona and six Spaniards among the nominees, the most represented nation and team (TO BE UPDATED WITH THE CLASSIFICATION). And at only 25 years old, she should help continue to make Catalonia and Spain shine for the seasons to come.