Barça star Aitana Bonmatí caps off stellar year with Ballon d'Or award 

Aitana Bonmatí has capped off another stellar year by picking up the prestigious Ballon d’Or award at a ceremony in Paris on Monday evening.  

On a memorable night for the club, Barça Femeni were awarded the women's team of the year, and Barça players picked up three of the top five spots in the individual women's award. 

As well as Bonmatí, 19-year-old winger and fellow World Cup winner Salma Paralluelo came third with Swedish forward Fridolina Rolfö in fourth. 

Australia and Chelsea forward Sam Kerr was runner-up to Bonmatí, with England and Manchester United goalkeeper rounding out the top five. 

Lionel Messi won the men's award for a record eighth time. The former Barça star, now playing for Inter Miami, captained Argentina to glory in the men's World Cup in Qatar in December 2022. 

In her acceptance speech, Bonmatí thanked her Barça and Spain teammates, before switching from Spanish to Catalan to thank the three clubs she has played for: Club Deportiu Ribes, CF Cubelles "and especially Barça, my club."  

She thanked club president Joan Laporta, present at the ceremony, and the club for their support, for giving her the opportunity to play professional football, and to play in "a packed Camp Nou." 

Bonmatí's dream season

Bonmatí won a league and Champions League double with FC Barcelona as well as the World Cup with the Spanish national team.  

The Catalan midfielder was instrumental to her teams' successes, being named UEFA Women’s Player of the Year after the past season.  

In the Champions League, the 25-year-old netted five goals and assisted eight more as Barça claimed their second European crown. In the World Cup this summer, she won the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament as Spain claimed their first title. In five of Barcelona's 11 Champions League matches last season, Bonmatí was named Player of the Match.  

Bonmatí is the metronomic midfielder that possibly best encapsulated the trademark style of play that Barcelona and Spain have built so much success on for the past 15 years or so, while also being capable of slicing through opposition defences with passes placed through the eye of a needle. 

During the summer's World Cup success, Bonmatí, the heartbeat of her team, made more passes than anybody else. She netted three goals and provided two assists during Spain's victorious campaign. She scored two goals in Spain’s round of 16 tie, ensuring the first ever knockout win in the competition for the national team. Naturally, she was named Player of the Tournament as well.  

The award is just recognition for a player who has been at the forefront of the strides the women's game has taken over the past few years, playing with a level of skill and technique that wins titles on the pitch and plaudits off it. 

Aitana Bonmatí is the second Catalan to win football's most prestigious award, following in the footsteps of two-time winner Alexia Putellas.

Social impact 

In addition to the goals and trophies, Bonmatí has also played a significant role in bringing about social change off the pitch.  

'Spain’s World Cup triumph was surrounded by controversy of the non-consensual kiss from the former federation president, Luis Rubiales, to player Jenni Hermoso.  

Bonmatí was one of the dozens of players to stand up to the federation leaders in the aftermath of the celebrations and demand significant changes after what they saw as a sexist attitude in Rubailes' behavior and subsequent press conference in which he refused to resign.  

The squad later refused to play for Spain again until various leading figures within the federation were removed from their positions, including Rubiales, manager Jorge Vilda, federation secretary general Andreu Camps, and the heads of marketing, women's football division, and director of communications.  

In her speech after picking up the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year award, Bonmatí dedicated the award to Spain teammate Hermoso. "As a society we cannot allow abuses of power. I dedicate this award to Jenni Hermoso and all women who suffer the same. We're with you," Bonmatí said in the ceremony in Monaco in August. 

Many feminist organizations and politicians have praised the women's team players for their courage in standing up to situations they felt had become intolerable and igniting social change and an impactful national conversation on sexism, sexist attitudes, and sexual consent.  

In addition, Bonmatí has also collaborated with the United Nations Refugee Agency on various projects this year.  

Barça Femení 

FC Barcelona Femení were named women's club of the year after winning the league, Champions league and Spanish Super Cup. 

Six Barça players were nominated for the Women's Ballon d'Or while no less than nine were part of the Spain squad that won the World Cup.