On Tuesday (17th) in Qatar, Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí won the 2024 The Best award, given by FIFA to the best female soccer player in the world. For the second year in a row, the Spaniard overtook her main competitors and confirmed herself as one of the biggest references in women's soccer today. If anyone still needed numbers or proof, the 2023/24 season is the final answer.
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Aitana's season
With 23 goals and 17 assists in 49 matches, Aitana shined in the most important moments. In the UEFA Women's Champions League, the most prestigious club competition in Europe, she led Barcelona to the title but also left her mark in the final and was named the best player of the tournament. Not satisfied, she did the same in the UEFA Women's Nations League final, once again proving her starring role in decisive games.
Besides European titles, Bonmatí was important in Barcelona's victories in the Liga F, Copa de la Reina, and Spanish Super Cup, establishing the club as the undisputed ruler on the national stage. If soccer were an equation of consistency, talent, and impact, Aitana would solve every variable with ease.
Undisputed recognition
The numbers in the voting, during the FIFA ceremony, attested to Aitana's superiority. The Spaniard received 52 points, coming ahead of Zambian Barbra Banda with 39 points and Norwegian Caroline Graham Hansen with 37 points. This advantage in votes is no accident, but rather confirmation that, throughout the season, she was well above the competition.
With this second consecutive award, Bonmatí has joined the historic group of players who have won The Best more than once, such as Mia Hamm, Marta, and Alexia Putellas, her Barcelona teammate. Comparisons with those legends are not just recognition but proof that, at 26 years old, Aitana is already among the greatest of all time.
Humility and leadership
Despite her individual honours, Bonmatí does not deviate from the rhetoric of teamwork. She made sure she thanked teammates and coaching staff upon receiving this award: "As I always say, it's team work. We achieved with Barça and also with the national team.
What differentiates Aitana is not only her brilliant plays but how she manages to raise the level of all the players around her. At Barcelona, she connects all sectors of the team, sets the rhythm, and organizes the game. With the Spanish national team, she plays the same role with equal efficiency, showing that her soccer goes far beyond club boundaries.
At 26, Aitana is still at the peak of her physical and technical powers, and there's nothing to indicate she is going to slow down. Barcelona remains the dominant force on the European stage, and with each passing day, the Spanish national team is getting even stronger. Bonmatí has become the reference for a team that wants more and more titles and a national squad that has already shown it can conquer the world. As emphasized by the player herself, "Let's go for more collective titles."