Between 1964 and 1968, Manchester United won the Ballon d'Or three times. First with Law, then with Charlton and finally with George Best. They were baptized as the Holy Trinity and played together for a decade, until 1973. For posterity they are immortalized in a sculpture near Old Trafford. Nobody takes care of the liturgy and polishes its myths like the British.
There were three of them, like the Barcelona players Messi, Iniesta and Xavi, who in 2010 took the podium for the award, the most prestigious and glamorous. Something that only the Dutch Milan had achieved before. With a small (but not minor) difference. The Italians signed their stars. Barcelona nursed them, raised them, educated them and watched them grow until they were their leaders and captains. In England, the Argentinian, the man from La Mancha and the man from Terrassa would already have (or would not take long) a sculpture.
Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas, teammates and winners of the last three editions of the women's Ballon d'Or, have also come out of the Blaugrana youth team. It is no coincidence that both are cerebral, touch midfielders who enjoy passing, combinations and putting together plays. That style is worked on, instilled and sublimated in Barcelona, it doesn't matter if they are girls or boys.
The two best footballers in the world in 2023 have in common a World Cup victory but above all they are united by the Masia, a concept and a school more than a residence, because neither one nor the other slept there. Aitana Bonmatí was signed by the Blaugrana club as a cadet and stopped playing in mixed teams. Leo Messi left his native Rosario at the age of 13 to settle in Barcelona. Between the two stars, they have 32 years in the Barça shirt: 21 for the Argentine – now in Miami, after leaving in tears in 2021 and passing through Paris – and 11 for Sant Pere de Ribes, for now.
La Masia is the driving vector among all the great Barcelonas in history, with a weight in each of the Champions Leagues, men and women. It must not be forgotten. Now to give splendor and show off your chest. In the future so as not to stray from the path.
