Aitana Bonmatí: “The tough moments have made me a better player”

2024 is proving to be an incredible year for Aitana Bonmatí. With the national team, she lifted the inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League trophy. At her club, she has won it all: the League, the Champions League, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup. Aitana’s impact has been decisive in all these triumphs, so much so that just a month ago, she claimed her second consecutive Ballon d’Or.

However, being where she is today is thanks to her “mentality and her ambitious, relentless character,” and also, in part, to her father. The Villanueva y Geltrú native has not had an easy path to success and acknowledges that it is precisely those difficult and challenging moments that have shaped her into the player and person she is today: “I’m grateful for those tough times and, honestly, there were many. Everyone faces hard moments in life. For us as footballers, it’s no different. In those moments, it feels like the world is ending, like you want to throw in the towel, but you don’t.”

Looking back on all she has achieved so far, the midfielder remembers the young girl who first began playing football, which is now “practically my life,” and how, at 16, she was on the verge of quitting: “I wanted to give up football, but my father helped me to keep going. He pushed me to continue. I couldn’t see a future or a goal. I remember those times were tough. Now, when I look back, I see that it was all worth it.”

And thank goodness she didn’t give up. “Who would’ve thought years ago that I’d have two Ballon d’Ors now?” she exclaimed, expressing her gratitude “to the hard work of my teammates and staff. I’m lucky to have such great players who make me a better players around me.” Those youthful feelings, “I was so impatient, I wanted everything quickly, I wanted it all right away, to get minutes, to play…”, have shaped her as both a person and a player. “I think this process of gradually earning my place as a starter, both at Barça and with the national team, is what has made me the player I am today, and I’m grateful for it.”

Talking about football with Aitana is a privilege; watching her play is a true delight. She reflected: “People say that football takes a lot from you, but what it gives back is more than what it takes.” And Aitana gives us plenty, and only the very best.