There was no surprise, nor was there expected to be, but that did not make it any less special when Aitana Bonmatí's name echoed around the Chatelet theater in Paris. The FC Barcelona midfielder won a well-deserved Ballon d'Or and replaced Alexia Putellas, winner of the last two editions. For the third consecutive year, the most prestigious award in the world went to Blaugrana. Normalizing the exceptional. FC Barcelona players are used to this, which was recognized as the best women's team of the year (president Joan Laporta collected the award, as did coach Jonatan Giráldez and captain Patri Guijarro), and especially an Aitana Good morning that has shone like never before this season. She has won the League, the Champions League and the Super Cup with Barça and has been crowned world champion with Spain, in addition to being the MVP of the World Cup and the Champions League, in which she was the top assister and the second top scorer. The footballer from Sant Pere de Ribes, who has not been able to be overshadowed by any rival this year, has many merits.
At 10:05 p.m., the tennis player Novak Djokovic was in charge of opening the envelope with the name of Aitana Bonmatí. "I haven't slept for days. Being at the most important gala in world football is a dream for me, and although I am a discreet person, being here is something unique", said the footballer.
In a speech in three languages, Catalan, Spanish and English, Aitana wanted to share her successes with her teammates and national team: "It's an individual award, but it wouldn't be possible without your work." He also remembered the three clubs of his career, CD Ribes, CF Cubelles and, especially, FC Barcelona: "Thank you for betting on us when no one believed in it, for giving me the opportunity to be a professional footballer. Who would have told me when I was little that I would be playing in a packed Camp Nou!". "I remember when I watched this gala on television and saw Messi lift the trophy; it seemed very distant to me. Today I am the one who collects this award. I have no words", admitted the Barcelona player, who also had words to thank for being able to be the reference today for many boys and girls who want to be like her.
Aitana arrived on the red carpet minutes before eight in the evening in a stunning black dress and exultant. There was no hint of nervousness in his gaze – he carried his emotions inside – and his huge smile confirmed that it was a night to enjoy. A parenthesis to that competitive requirement that always marks his days. He arrived with the rest of the Blaugrana expedition, led by the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, and the manager of the women's team, Xavi Puig.
On the most special night of her career, Aitana was accompanied by her people, her family and her closest friends who went to Paris with the club's delegation. She went there with Salma Paralluelo (third in the voting) from the concentration of the Spanish selection in Zurich. The other Blaugrana nominees for the Ballon d'Or also went to the gala: Fridolina Rolfö (fourth), Patri Guijarro (8th) and Mapi León (16th). Neither Oshoala (20th), called up with Nigeria, nor Alexia Putellas, who stayed in Zurich for the Spanish national team's concentration, which plays against Switzerland today, went there. Once again, the gala organized by France Football again coincided with an international window, so that prevented a large part of the nominees from going to the French capital.
This is the first 100 percent Ballon d'Or for the Masia. While the two-time winner Alexia Putellas arrived at Barça at the age of 18, Aitana Bonmatí is a talent trained at the club. He landed at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper at the age of 13 and has gone through all the categories of the Blaugrana club until reaching the first team in 2016. Those were the years when he played little and was very frustrated: "I am very impatient and ambitious, and this management did not take her very well", she revealed yesterday sitting in the press room next to the Ballon d'Or. "What would I say to that Aitana? May I have a little more patience, because in the end with work and demand everything will come".
Today Aitana Bonmatí is the best player in the world. The brain of Barça. A soccer player with marked Barça DNA who wears Johan Cruyff's number 14 with pride. The player that Pep Guardiola compared to Andrés Iniesta: "I feel very proud to have been born on the same day as Pep Guardiola. He is an idol for me. I didn't see him play, but I was able to experience the glorious time he gave us. The years of Iniesta, Busquets and Messi were the best of my life. To be compared to Iniesta is something unique", he said in front of the journalists.
Aitana becomes the third consecutive Spanish Ballon d'Or, a milestone within the reach of very few and with which she can inspire the next generations: "Congratulations, Aitana Bonmatí, you are the best soccer player in the world and a benchmark for thousands of girls and young people who aspire to reach the top in a sport that does not always make it easy. Your vision of the game and your impressive leadership from midfield make you unique. To continue to be the best!” said Pedro Sánchez, acting president of the Spanish Government.
After the Ballon d'Or and the award for UEFA's best player of the year, the next award in which the midfielder aspires to succeed Alexia Putellas is The Best. The crown changes hands, but remains at FC Barcelona.
