Simply put, Aitana Bonmati has become the best player on the planet.
Winning nearly every major prize in the sport in the space of just two years, she has also matched her Barcelona teammate, Alexia Putellas, by winning her second Ballon d’Or in a row.
But who is Aitana Bonmati and how did she become such a dominant force in women’s football?
Aitana Bonmati: Her career so far
A product of the Barcelona La Masia youth academy having first joined as a 13-year-old, the midfielder led the Barcelona ‘B’ team to the second division title in 2016.
Bonmati, who is no.1 on FourFourTwo’s best current players list, then broke into the first team squad during the 2016-17 season, although regular appearances would only follow two years later.
A technically gifted playmaker, who can dictate possession against the best midfielders in the world, by 2019 Bonmati was getting noticed on the international stage.
She started her first Champions League final against Lyon in Budapest, although it would end in a 4-1 defeat. A first senior international tournament would follow a month later, with Bonmati part of the Spain squad at the World Cup finals in France.
She was also be part of the Spanish squad at the European Championships in England in 2022 but was a part of ‘Las 15’ – a group of players who made themselves unavailable for international selection in September 2022 due to their dissatisfaction with the Spanish federation and the organisation of the team.
Only after a series of meetings with the federation, where improvements were promised, did Bonmati agree to return ahead of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
It would prove a decisive moment in the history of the national team and Bonmati’s career. She was magnificent as Spain became World Champions for the first time in the women’s game.
Bonmati started all seven of Spain’s fixtures, scoring three goals and providing two assists, regularly La Roja’s best player as they swept aside the competition. Following the win over England in the final, Bonmati was named as the winner of the Golden Ball, awarded to the best player at the tournament.
By this point she was already a two-time Champions League winner and claimed multiple Spanish League titles and cups. With Barcelona, she won the treble prior to the World Cup, and Bonmati later claimed the Ballon d’Or.
Bonmati would help Barcelona win another treble in 2023-24, firmly cementing her place as the best player in the world.
Bonmati has previously stated she idolised Andres Iniesta and Xavi growing up and watching her play you can clearly see the influence of the legendary Barcelona midfielders. Pep Guardiola, who managed the pair said of Bonmati: “She is a football player who has me completely in love with her for the way she plays. I would say she is like the women’s Iniesta.”
