Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí: "I have my own path to follow"

Aitana Bonmatí is beyond the days of chasing history – instead, she becomes it.

Monday (22 September) marked the latest chapter of her astonishing football journey, adding a third successive Ballon d’Or to her impressive honours.

She is just the third player in history to achieve such a feat, joining the esteemed company of Lionel Messi and Michel Platini.

“My third time in a row here and I still can’t believe it… incredible,” Bonmatí said at the ceremony.

“If it was possible to share it I would, because I think it has been a year with an exceptionally high level, above all my team-mates who had a great year.

“I owe Barcelona everything; this is the club of my life, [and] I hope to represent this badge for many more years.”

Such is her ambitious nature, the 27-year-old is hungry for more. But, when asked if she could match Messi’s record of eight, Bonmatí was quick to downplay it.

“I try not to compare myself to anyone. Messi’s had and continues to have a career that, for me, is unrivalled. I am Aitana. I have my own path to follow,” she told ESPN.

“I am not thinking about winning eight – or even four! Ultimately, this is the result of working hard every day and perseverance and a lot of sacrifices.

“There’s no end goal, other than to keep going day by day.”

Ballon d’Or 2025: All winners, all awards – complete list

How Aitana Bonmatí became the best in the world

Bonmatí still has much of her career to go, yet is already guaranteed to go down as one of the best to play the sport.

A few trophies still evade her at this stage – an Olympic gold and the Euros, namely –everything else, however, belongs to her.

The secret to her emphatic rise to the top is fairly simple: her mentality.

“What has always characterised me has been my mentality,” she told the Guardian last year.

“My mentality is something that I never lost, and I think it’s been the key to what has made me the footballer I am.

“Talent is one thing, and you can work hard as well but without this mentality of sacrifice, resilience, and fight to want to be better every day… I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”

That appetite for more silverware keeps her at the top of her game. With six goal involvements in four league games already this season, she has set the ball rolling for another impressive campaign.

By her own admission, it’ll be time to hang up her boots if she ever loses that desire to be the best.

“The day I don’t have that hunger and ambition is the day I’ll retire from professional football,” she added.

“Today, I still have that spark inside that makes me compete and train every day at the highest level – there are still things to accomplish.”

Aitana Bonmati: The pride of La Masia

Where other clubs may look to buy the best in the world, in Catalonia it is all about developing them in house.

La Masia is one of, if not the, most renowned academies in world football. Midfield duo Xavi and Andres Iniesta its custodians, it is known for making superstars.

Bonmatí fits the bill in every sense, joining in her early teens and idolising the former two as she evolved through the youth set-up.

“She reminds me of me, because we understand football the same way,” Xavi told the Guardian of the three-time Ballon d’Or winner.

“Football is about using your brain. If you put talent up against physicality, talent will always win, because that’s the essence of football.”

It isn’t just former players who marvel at her abilities, but managers too.

Pep Guardiola – who both played and coached the club – is in awe of her style.

“Bonmatí is a football player who has me completely in love with her for the way she plays,” he remarked to UEFA in 2023.

“She is like the women’s Iniesta playing for Barcelona.”

To become the face of the academy means bearing the responsibility of playing the Barcelona way, something the Catalonia native revels in.

“It’s both a source of pride and a responsibility,” she explained to Mundo Deportivo.

“We’re not only judged by our results but also by how we play. Most teams would be satisfied just winning, but we’re expected—and we expect ourselves-to win and play well.

“That’s a big responsibility.”

Click here to read article