Pedri González and Aitana Bonmatí, footballers of FC Barcelona, were the protagonists of the morning at Camp Nou. Both received the Agrupació Barça Jugadors 2022 award at Auditorium 1899, an award that rewards the values of fair play and humility. The prize was awarded to Jose Manuel Asensi, recently appointed president of the Barça Players Association.
During the event, Pedri admitted that "the injury was a hard blow" because "it came at a time when I felt very good. I'm working to recover and get back with the team," he added. The injury to his right thigh that he suffered during the match against Manchester United will keep him off the pitch for a minimum of four weeks.
That means that, in the best of cases, they will lose a total of eight games. They are the next four in the League (Cádiz, Almería, Valencia and Athletic), the return against Manchester United in the Europa League, a hypothetical round of 16 of the aforementioned European competition and the first leg of the Cup semifinal against him. Real Madrid next March 2.
Asked if he suffers more during a game on or off the field, he said that it is "much worse from the outside", although he pointed out that he has "a lot of confidence in the team" ahead of the return of the round of 32 of the Europa League that Barcelona will play on Thursday against Manchester United.
The other winner was Aitana Bonmatí, a female Barcelona midfielder. The jury highlighted the midfielder's gesture of showing the medal to the cameras in Turin despite losing the Champions League final. “I made that gesture because reaching the Champions League final is never easy and you have to value it. But at the level of repercussion, with the people who traveled to Turin, I think we won more than we lost", said the footballer who also valued the next European tie that will cross Barcelona with Roma. "Playing at the Camp Nou is special, we've done it a few times, I hope it continues like this. And to win."
Finally, Aitana added that "sport is more than a ball, than a game or training. That's why I try to be an example on and off the pitch. Being a benchmark now is great, I never would have thought about it. I like being part of the contribution to a more egalitarian world" and ended by thanking the Agrupació for its verdict.
Both players received the award in the presence of the vice president of the club Eduard Romeu; managers Joan Soler, Josep Ignasi Macià and Aureli Mas; and the managers of the Zuviría y Olmo Group, as well as the aforementioned president Juan Manuel Asensi.
