Aitana Bonmatí, who received the FIFA Women’s World Cup Golden Ball, has achieved another milestone by winning the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in Paris. She follows in the footsteps of her FC Barcelona teammate, Alexia Putellas, who secured the award in the previous two years.
In the selection process, Aitana outshone Chelsea and Australia’s Sam Kerr, along with two fellow FC Barcelona teammates, Salma Paralluelo and Fridolina Rolfö, who secured the third and fourth positions, respectively. During her acceptance speech, Aitana stressed the importance of athletes being role models both on and off the field, emphasizing their responsibility to promote a better, more peaceful, and equitable world.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or results signify a significant achievement for players representing FC Barcelona and Spain, as they have now claimed the award for three consecutive years. Spain, the reigning FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, stands as the first nation to produce two distinct winners of the women’s Ballon d’Or in its six-year history.
Aitana was among the six Spanish players nominated for the Ballon d’Or, underscoring the wealth of world-class talent within the Spanish women’s football team. This is particularly noteworthy in light of the ongoing challenges within the Spanish Football Federation, triggered by an incident involving former Spanish FA President, Luis Rubiales, who received a FIFA ban of three years due to inappropriate behavior during the World Cup medal ceremony.
Among Spain’s six Ballon d’Or nominees, only three are presently part of the national team squad. Aitana’s Barcelona teammates, Patri Guijarro and Mapi León, who are ranked 8th and 16th in the world, respectively, continue to abstain from representing Spain until substantial changes are implemented within the federation. Alba Redondo, ranked 21st, has also been absent from the Spain squad since the World Cup.
At the age of 25, Aitana is the second youngest woman to secure the Ballon d’Or Féminin award since its inception in 2018, with Ada Hegerberg, the inaugural winner, accomplishing this feat at the age of 23.
The Ballon d’Or, originally established by France Football magazine in 1956, introduced a women’s category in 2018. It is renowned as one of the most prestigious individual awards in international soccer, evaluated based on three fundamental criteria: individual performance, team achievements, and sportsmanship.
Aitana is currently gearing up for the Nations League competition against Switzerland. She, along with her Barcelona teammate, Salma Paralluelo, received special authorization from the Spanish FA to attend the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris, despite their national team commitments in Switzerland.
Last year, Aitana was among the five FC Barcelona players listed among the top 20 for the Ballon d’Or. However, due to recovering from an early-season injury, she chose to remain in Spain for additional training while her teammates attended the event in Paris, where Alexia Putellas secured the award for the second consecutive year. At that time, Aitana held the fifth-best ranking in the world.
Over the past year, her exceptional performances have firmly established her as not just a nominee but as a worthy winner of the Ballon d’Or. With last year’s winner, Alexia sidelined due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, Aitana excelled in the attacking midfield position for both her club and country.
During FC Barcelona’s victorious UEFA Women’s Champions League campaign, Aitana played a crucial role, contributing five goals and eight assists, making her the player with the most goal involvement in the competition. Furthermore, she displayed her social consciousness by wearing a T-shirt with a message advocating for refugee support during the final victory over VfL Wolfsburg.
Aitana carried her exceptional form into the Women’s World Cup this summer, where she scored three goals and assisted in two more as Spain claimed their first-ever trophy. Her remarkable performance earned her the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Throughout the 2022/23 season, she accumulated almost every available trophy for both her club and country, with the exception of the Copa de la Reina, from which FC Barcelona was excluded due to fielding an ineligible player.
Shortly after winning the Women’s World Cup, Aitana dominated the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year Award, garnering more than three times the votes of the second-placed Sam Kerr. Following her Ballon d’Or victory, it is widely anticipated that she will also secure The Best FIFA Women’s Player award later this year, thus following in the footsteps of her club and international teammate, Alexia.
In August, she stood on the winner’s podium alongside Erling Haaland, the Norwegian striker who played a pivotal role in Manchester City’s success in the men’s Champions League. Now, she joins the league of former FC Barcelona icon Lionel Messi, who served as an inspiration to the young Aitana when she joined La Masia, the club’s training base, in 2012, the same year Messi secured his fourth Ballon d’Or trophy.
In a conversation earlier this year, Aitana shared that as a young girl, she drew inspiration from watching the diminutive Messi excel in matches for the club she passionately supported, emphasizing that football is for those with intelligence and skill, rather than just height and physical strength.
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