Aitana Bonmatí named Ballon d'Or for 2023
The best women’s player in the world is still a blaugrana! Aitana Bonmatí is the Ballon d’Or winner for 2023, a prize which places the midfielder at the very top of the footballing world. The blaugrana received the award at the gala which took place at the Teatre del Châtelet de Paris and where Barça Women were also rewarded as the best team of the year.
She received the trophy from another world-beater in tennis star Novak Djokovic, and went on to thank all the clubs she has played for, with a special mention for "Barça, my lifetime club ... We are a global benchmark." And she ended her acceptance speech with a powerful message that "as role models we have a responsibility on and off the pitch. We should be more than athletes and keep leading by example and fighting together for a better, peaceful and equal world."
Four from Barça in top ten
Aitana was joined in the top ten by her team-mates Salma Paralluelo, who finished third in the vote, Fridolina Rolfö (fourth), and Patri Guijarro (eighth), which goes to show just what a marvellous team she belongs to, and the rightful winner of the Women's Team of the Year tonight. "Without the rest of the team, I wouldn't be here" she said. “Thank you to Barça for believing in us when nobody else did. But never in my wildest dreams did I believe when I was a child that I would end up playing in front of a packed Camp Nou!"
And to top off the evening, former Barça man Leo Messi, winner of the World Cup with Argentina, extended what was already a staggering record by winning the Men's Ballon d'Or for the eighth time.
A year to remember
Bonmatí, born in Sant Pere de Ribes not far from Barcelona, rounds off a historic year in style, a year that has seen her establish herself as one of the top names in the women’s game. The statistics are impressive enough, 18 goals and 21 assists speak for themselves and the midfielder has picked up several important distinctions, both on an individual and collective level.
Success for both club and country
With FC Barcelona, Bonmatí once again claimed the league title and a second Champions League title, whilst also being named player of the tournament. If that was not enough, the Catalan footballer was also part of the Spanish national side which claimed the World Cup in 2023 with Bonmatí once more named as player of the tournament.
Picking up the baton from Alexia
So, after so many memorable performances, the predictions that saw Bonmatí as the heiress to Alexia Putellas’ crown, her fellow blaugrana having won the award for the past two seasons, were proved correct and the best player in the world for the third consecutive season is a Barça player.