Women's Soccer Player of the Year Contender Aitana Bonmati

Years Old: 27 Position: Midfielder Clubs: Barcelona & Spain

It has been quite the year for Aitana Bonmati. She achieved becoming the first player to win three women's Ballons d'Or, secured a domestic treble and reached the Euro 2025 final.

Her pedigree is evident, with an impressive trophy haul across her career as well. She has earned seven league titles, three European crowns, nine Copas de la Reina and five Spanish Super Cups.

While Barcelona were defeated by Arsenal in the Champions League final, and her remarkable return from a bout of viral meningitis shortly before the start of the Euros was not enough to guide Spain to the trophy, it was an notable campaign.

The creative playmaker scored the goal that beat Germany in the Euros semi-final as Spain made history by advancing to the final for the first time.

She was also selected as the Champions League's player of the season, registering nine goal contributions in her 11 appearances and scoring in their 4-1 semi-final second-leg win at Chelsea.

A former club president: "I believe that Aitana does not have a ceiling at the moment. She is a very driven girl, and the truth is that she is very youthful with everything she has achieved. I think that the ceiling will be set by her if she persists to be like this, so competitive, taking care of herself.

"There are times when you see her running at 11pm at night, so that not too many people can see her. She is exercising here in the village. If she continues like that, I think there's no limit to it. I believe that she could become like Lionel Messi with eight Ballons d'Or. She will be able to reach his level."

Bonmati regarding what it means to play for Barcelona: "It's both a point of honor and a duty. We're not only judged by our results but also by how we play. Most teams would be content just winning, but we're required - and we expect ourselves - to win and play well. That's a big responsibility."

A top club men's manager: "Aitana Bonmati is a football player who has me completely in love with her for the way she plays. I would say she is like the women's Iniesta."

The owner of a bar devoted to Bonmati in her home town: "Mostly for being as modest as she is. Her style of play. And she knows how to work as a group and as a team. Often some of these top-tier players are more self-focused and they always want to be them, them and them. No, she shares the awards and has proven that in all the galas she went to, acknowledging her team as the driving force to herself. And, it is because of her way of being, her game and her power and her quick reaction mindset."

Although Bonmati created the most chances in Liga F last season, 10 players provided more assists than her six, including her Barcelona teammates who provided a league-high 11 and 10 assists respectively.

But where Bonmati excelled more than any other player was in the moment before a goal was scored and an assist awarded by constantly providing the pass to the player who assisted the goal, silently starting so many of Barcelona's successful attacks last season.

There isn't much that hasn't been said about Bonmati. She explains her biggest strengths as comprehending the game and locating spaces with and without the ball, in order to identify solutions in every match.

Tactically, this self-assessment holds up perfectly. It is impressive how much distance Bonmati covers when compared to others. This effort level combined with her spatial awareness, game IQ and technical quality ensure she continually resolves problems in games.

In possession, she shifts to find space in a way that advantages the team, similar to other players but from a more advanced starting position that often affords players less time and space.

For club and country, Bonmati smartly ran into unconventional positions, sometimes even abandoning her position to move to the opposite side to create an overload. This contradicts what a positional side would normally do but her movement frequently created 3v2 or 2v1 situations.

With a numerical advantage, her passing and exceptional small space dribbling becomes nearly impossible to stop.

Her leadership distinguishes her from her peers too.

Her relentless running, particularly in her defensive pressure, secondarily raises the level of intensity in her teams and has the tactical benefit of forcing teams back, stopping them from getting settled attacking possession.

Bonmati intelligently recognises the space she can utilize and with her stamina arrives to create a 2v1 situation for Spain in the wide areas.