2023: What a year for Aitana

Aitana Bonmatí is officially the best women's footballer in the world, following a 2023 in which everything she has touched has turned to gold. She has been recognised with probably the most prestigious individual accolade in football, the Ballon d'Or, making it three years in a row for Barça after Alexia Putellas won it the two years before.

Since France Football started giving out the award in 2018, Aitana is the only winner to have collected both the World Cup and the Champions League that year, and was named MVP of both competitions, as well as winning UEFA Player of the Year. Picking up trophies is something she has down to a fine art.

18 goals and 21 assists

Aitana Bonmatí has made spectacular progress this year, in which her responsibilities in the team increased in the absence of her injured team-mate Putellas, She lapped up the pressure, racking up 18 goals and 21 assists for club and country.

In a year that started with the Spanish Super Cup victory in Merida, scoring two goals in the final against Real Sociedad and being recognised with the MVP award, in 22 Liga games this calendar year, she's netted 13 goals and given 19 assists, with some quite extraordinary performances such as her two goals and two assists against Osasuna and her two goals and one assist in the game with Atlético Madrid in April, a 4-0 win that as good as wrapped up the title for the blaugrana ladies.

Champions League MVP

She may not have scored in the Champions League, but she did give three assists, including one for Patri Guijarro in the amazing comeback against Wolfsburg in the final, and her performances were enough to win her the MVP award for that competition too, which Barça won for the second time.

At club level, she was only on the losing side once in 2023, and that was in a game with Madrid CFF after the Liga title had already been won.

and World Cup MVP too

It would seem that things couldn't have possibly got any better for her, but they did! Alexia then went to Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup and played a central role in her country winning the crown for the first time ever. En route to the final her standout performance was the round of 16 game with Switzerland in which she scored two goals and gave assists for Alba Redondo and Jennifer Hermoso.

Spain of course marched on to beat England in the final, with Aitana joined in the winning team by a host of her Barça team-mates. If any confirmation was still needed, there we had it. She is the greatest female footballer on the planet, and it's now official!