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 christened them the Holy Trinity and played together for a decade, until 1973. They are immortalized for posterity in a sculpture in the vicinity of Old Trafford. No one cares for liturgy and shines on myths like the British.
There were three of them, like Barcelona's Messi, Iniesta and Xavi, who in 2010 won the award's podium, the most prestigious and glamorous. Something that only Milan from the Dutch had achieved before. With a small (but not unimportant) difference. The Italians signed the crackers. Barcelona nursed them, raised them, educated them and saw them grow until they were leaders and captains. In England, the Argentine, the Manchex and the one from Terrassa would already have (or would not take long to have) a sculpture.
Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas, teammates and winners of the last three editions of the Women's Ballon d'Or, have also left the Blaugrana squad. It is no coincidence that both are cerebral midfielders, with touch, who enjoy passing, combining and setting up plays. This style is worked on, inculcated and sublimated in Barcelona, so much so that they are girls or boys.
The two best footballers in the world in 2023 have a World Cup win in common, but above all they are united by the Farmhouse, a concept and a school more than a residence, because neither of them slept there. Aitana Bonmatí was signed by the Barcelona 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 players, 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 between all the great Barcelonas in history, with a weight in each of the Champions, men's and women's. It must not be forgotten. Now, to shine and show off. In the future, not to deviate from the path.
