FC Barcelona honours Aitana Bonmatí with surprise mural in her hometown
On Monday night, Barça midfielder Aitana Bonmatí was honoured with the biggest individual prize in football, the Ballon d'Or presented by France Football. And to celebrate the achievement, the club teamed up with artist FERT.ONE to create a mural in the player¡s hometown of Sant Pere de Ribes, where she still lives today. The image is packed with references to her personal and professional life and ensured an emotional homecoming for the all-conquering player.
Mural dedicated to Aitana Bonmatí
The design combines urban artist FERT.ONE's usual style with Barça iconography, including the club's corporate colours. Aitana appears in her current self holding the Ballon d'Or trophy, along with her younger self and a series of zig-zags that reflect the ups and downs in the player's career, which could quite as easily be used to depict the life of anyone else on the journey to the top in any particular field. It also includes the letters "AI-TA-NA" in yellow in the style of typical tags used by authors of street art.
One of the most prominent features is a line that Aitana has uttered so many times of the years, and which has become her kind of catchphrase: “Win or learn, you never lose", which is such an inspiring message to new generations. Not forgetting the words ‘Made in La Masia’, honouring the amazing talent factory that is the Barça youth system, with its unique style and values and of which Aitana is one of the finest exponents.
The mural can be admired in one of the main streets in the town, and has been supported by Sant Pere de Ribes Town Council.
Winning year
Aitana Bonmatí has made it three years in a row that a Barça player has been name the best women footballer in the world after Alexia Putellas took the title in the two previous years.
In 2023, she was also named UEFA Player of the Year, after winning the UEFA Women's Champions League with Barça and the FIFA Women's World Cup with Spain, and being named MVP of both competitions.