Spain, Barcelona star Bonmatí wins Ballon d’Or Féminin award،
Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí has won the Women’s Ballon d’Or after a record year for club and country.
Bonmatí, 25, helped Barça win Liga F and the Champions League last season, before leading Spain to World Cup glory this summer.
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She was named Player of the Tournament in Australia and New Zealand and was also recently crowned UEFA Women’s Player of the Year. Bonmati won the Ballon d’Or ahead of Australian striker Sam Kerr and Spanish winger Salma Paralluelo.
“I would like to congratulate all the nominees. They are all great and inspiring footballers. As role models, we have a responsibility on and off the field. We should be more than athletes. Keep leading by example and keep going to fight together for a better world, a peaceful and egalitarian world,” Bonmatí said after receiving the award.
At the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris, Barcelona were also awarded Women’s Team of the Year. Bonmatí’s teammate Patri Guijarro and Barça president Joan Laporta received the recognition on behalf of the club.
It is the third year in a row that a Barça player has won the Ballon d’Or in women’s football, with Bonmatí succeeding teammate and back-to-back winner Alexia Putellas.
“Spain has something unique. In recent years we have achieved a lot with our clubs and with the national team,” Bonmati told reporters.
“The fact that we have won the Ballon d’Or three times in a row says a lot. We are a country that lives football and we work hard every day to be the best.”
After winning the award in 2021 and 2022, Putellas missed most of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, although she returned to play a part in Spain’s World Cup triumph. world.
In Putellas’ absence, 2022 Ballon d’Or fifth-place finisher Bonmatí stood out in a more attacking role at Barcelona, scoring nine goals and providing 10 assists in 23 appearances as Barça won Liga F for a fourth consecutive season.
She also played in the Champions League, recording a record 13 goals (five goals and eight assists) in 11 appearances, helping Barca win the title for a second time.
At the World Cup, she scored three times and set up two further goals as Spain won the competition for the first time, beating England 1–0 in the final in Sydney.
Bonmatí made his Barça debut in 2016 and has since made over 200 appearances for the club, winning four league titles, two Champions Leagues, five Copas de le Reina and three Spanish Super Cups.
She made her Spain debut in 2017 and has won 57 caps for her country, scoring 21 goals.
