Aitana Bonmati exclusive: Barcelona's Ballon d'Or winner tells it like it is

When Aitana Bonmati won the Ballon d’Or last year, it brought a global spotlight to a player whose genius was crying out to be recognised.

Even now it would be hard to argue that there is a better female footballer on the planet.

Over the past 16 months, Bonmati has won the Champions League twice and Spain’s top-flight Liga F twice with Barcelona. With Spain, she lifted the Women’s World Cup in August last year before adding the inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League in February. Her goals and golden touch make her a leading contender to win another Ballon d’Or this year. It also attracted interest from the game’s biggest clubs.

While rumours of interest from Chelsea and Lyon were growing, the midfielder was working with Barcelona to renew her contract — one that makes her the highest-paid player in women’s football history.

This week in Barcelona, she spoke in depth with The Athletic, just a few days after signing a new Barca deal until the summer of 2028.

We met at Barca’s sports complex on the outskirts of the city, in a small room in the media centre. She arrived at lunchtime, hastily explaining that she hadn’t yet had a chance to eat after a morning of training sessions and meetings.

Now 26, this has been Bonmati’s routine for a few years now: non-stop. But every day she drives back to her home in Sant Pere de Ribes, a small quiet town around 25 minutes down the coast. It is where she has lived all her life.

With a framed picture of the Camp Nou behind us — a ground she will now grace again once reconstruction is complete — we talked about her renewal. But we also talked about much more.

We talked about her concerns that Spain’s domestic women’s league is slipping dangerously behind the WSL. We talked about the gruelling schedule for football’s elite players, and her belief that more should be done to protect them. We talked about the rival offers that came in as she weighed up her future — and her powerful connection with Barca and the place she grew up.

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The Athletic: When and why did you decide to renew with Barca?

Bonmati: It was a process that started earlier than usual. In women’s football, you normally wait until the end of your contract and then you start negotiating. It was almost a year ago that my agent and I started discussions with the club. That says a lot about its importance.

In every conversation, there are difficult moments — or moments when you don’t agree — but I think both sides have been very respectful of each other and everything has been handled internally, which is something I wanted. I didn’t want anybody else to know, and I’m thankful for that. Having my contract renewed now, at the beginning of the season, is something that puts my mind at ease. I have made the decision firmly because I knew what I wanted and because the club has made a big bet — for which I am very grateful.

The Athletic: There were rival offers. Were you tempted by other projects?

Bonmati: I wasn’t tempted to accept but I did listen. When certain offers are put in front of you, you have to listen and think about what is best for you. For me, the priority has always been Barca, they have always come first. I always say that I like to listen and see what’s out there, but I know there won’t be anywhere like here.

I don’t know if there is another club in the world that moves as many people as we do. What we experienced at San Mames (when tens of thousands of Barca fans filled the stands for last season’s Champions League final victory over Lyon), I don’t know if any other club could experience that. We have achieved great sporting milestones and that gets people hooked. They are beautiful moments.

The Athletic: Which clubs were interested in you?

I prefer to keep that to myself. I don’t need to uncover offers from other clubs. I know I have received interest from several clubs and I am grateful. With Barca, we reached an agreement that makes us feel calm and proud. This is what has made me stay here, apart from the feeling I have for Barca. That’s a feeling I don’t have for any other club.

The Athletic: Your agent said Chelsea were willing to pay your €3million buy-out clause. There was talk of interest from Lyon and Barca have made a significant financial effort to keep you. How do you keep your feet on the ground when you see that you can choose where to go?

Bonmati: I value everything that is happening to me. I am privileged. I have the power to decide where I want to be. I know that this has been the result of a lot of hard work. I have worked very hard and I have suffered a lot too. I am grateful and proud to receive offers from other clubs and to be a world reference. I am grateful to all those who have wanted to have me in their team. It’s a sign that I’m doing things right.

I always have my feet on the ground. I am a person who takes these conversations very internally with my people and my agent Cristian (Martin). I always let myself be helped by people who know me well and who want the best for me. In the end, the decision will always be mine. I have the personality to make it, but I try to listen to the people who love me.

The Athletic: Was your connection to Sant Pere de Ribes (where Bonmati grew up) and Catalonia important in your decision as well?

Bonmati: I’m a small-town person and I’ve been at Barca for 13 years. It might seem like my comfort zone. All this is important but the most important thing for me is the football level of the team I want to play for. I am an ambitious person and I want to keep winning.

Barca have shown me that they are a winning team that competes for everything every year. We have won three Champions League titles out of five finals played. This is amazing. There are indeed other ambitious projects but I don’t know if right now another club could give me what Barca gives me on a sporting level.

I feel privileged to be at home, to have my people close to me and to be lucky enough to be able to grow up in a great club that has made me the player I am today.

The Athletic: When you started playing organised football at the age of seven, could you have imagined achieving what you have already?

Bonmati: Honestly, no. I’ve been finding it along the way. I’ve been making my own way. I didn’t imagine myself being a professional player until I was 17. I was at Barca B and I saw that the club was starting to invest in building a professional first team. I’ve fought hard and my head has taken me to the extremes of hard work and never giving up. But I have not done this alone, I am grateful to the people I have met along the way who have made me better.

The Athletic: You talk about extreme hard work. Have you learned to enjoy the process?

Bonmati: I’ve made quite a big change. Before, I suffered a lot and I wanted to have everything under control. Now I’m not like that, although I’m never going to change completely. I am the way I am. Last year, I learned to enjoy every moment more. It gives me peace of mind, knowing that I am improving as a player, as a person. In the end, you grow up too (laughs) and learn to enjoy moments that are sometimes fleeting and you never know if they will come back.

The Athletic: As an ambitious person at a club like Barca, how does it feel to be in a league that is below its level?

Bonmati: If I started to look at Liga F, without taking Barca into account, I wouldn’t have stayed here. That’s how clear I say it. It’s sad to see how other leagues are overtaking us at an incredible speed when we have the potential to be a top league — because of Barca’s successes and the successes of the national team.

If with these strengths we don’t have a sufficiently important league, it’s something to look at. We are stagnating, it’s not getting any better. We don’t even have a (main) sponsor in the league. What interest is being put into this league? Who is running this league? In whose hands is it? Maybe we should be more humble, take the example of the English league (WSL) and see how they do things. And in the national team the same. If the changes don’t come, it’s a sign that the people who run this league are not interested in moving forward.

The Athletic: What did you hope would have changed by now?

Bonmati: If I start I’ll never finish — and I’m sure I’ll leave a lot out. We have to fight to make it a more competitive league and that means fewer teams. We have to look at the exemplary leagues in Europe and see how many matches they play.

We are the league that plays the most games. When Spain-based players go to their national team, either with Spain or others, we are the most disadvantaged in the world.

Who cares about our performance so that we can shine in every game? In the Olympic Games, we arrived exhausted because we finished the league on June 15 (Spain then also played two fixtures before the Olympic tournament started on July 25). The United States went to the Olympics halfway through the NWSL competition. That makes us small as players.

The Athletic: There have been other hard times — like what happened after the World Cup in 2023 (Luis Rubiales kissed Spain forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips at the medal ceremony after they beat England in the final, igniting a dramatic reckoning with appalling attitudes towards the women’s game) and Spain players’ struggles for better conditions. When do you think was the hardest moment in the whole process?

Bonmati: There is never a quiet moment here. You always have to be fighting for everything and you can’t just play football and that’s it. There are always things, you see that things are not done well. I can’t single out the hardest moment because there have been many. There is a lot of wear and tear and there is even more wear and tear when you see that there is still a lot to do. I think that answers the question.

The Athletic: Let’s talk about football. In the last two years, you’ve been seen playing closer to the box. Do you feel more comfortable there?

Bonmati: Absolutely. I’m more dangerous near the box than far away. The fact that I can be closer to end situations makes me a better player; I can help my team-mates, and they can help me to be better myself. Playing there makes me a better player.

The Athletic: This year you are again nominated for the Ballon d’Or. What does it mean to you? How do you remember last year’s ceremony?

Bonmati: For me it was a unique day that I was able to share with my people. When I was little I remember seeing Lionel Messi lifting the Ballon d’Or almost every year and suddenly you see yourself there, with the creme de la creme of football. I’m proud to be nominated again. It says a lot about the great work that has been done this year.

The Athletic: How would you describe the art of ‘llegada’ (arriving at the right time in the penalty area)?

Bonmati: I think you either have it or you don’t. It’s an aspect of the game that I’ve played since I was a kid. I’ve grown up with it.

I consider myself a very skilful player who moves well in small spaces. In the last few years, I’ve been improving my finishing and (effectiveness in) the last few metres by speeding up the play, whether it’s by driving the ball or breaking into space. I try to be a complete player. And the team-mates I have here make me a better player. We all understand the same style of play and that helps a lot. We help each other.

The Athletic: What facets of the game do you enjoy the most?

Bonmati: I really enjoy receiving between the lines. I do aggressive forward control and I can accelerate the play with driving. I think that’s something that sets me apart. There I can find the last pass or the pass before the assist, which makes it easier for another player to give the assist. I like to help find these crucial spaces.

The Athletic: And at home? How do you unwind when the door is closed and the curtains drawn?

Bonmati: (Laughs) I just don’t have a lot of time. In the last few years, something I’ve missed is having a bit of a holiday. I think it’s something important to totally disconnect and recharge your batteries, but it’s something that players from teams that play in everything don’t have.

I would like to criticise the calendar and all the organisations that I think should look after the players more. I try to make the most of the time I have. I have times when I read more, and other times when I read less. I try to do things that are good for me, like meeting up with my lifelong friends in my town square. These are things that I like, that make me happy, that distract me and remind me of the Aitana I’ve always been.

(Top photo: Getty Images. Visual design by Eamonn Dalton)