Women's Soccer Player of the Year Candidate Aitana Bonmati

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

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

Her pedigree is evident, with an extensive trophy haul throughout 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 extraordinary 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 defeated Germany in the Euros semi-final as Spain made history by progressing to the final for the first time.

She was also named 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 determined, taking care of herself.

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

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

Manchester City 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 humble as she is. Her playing technique. And she knows how to work as a unit and as a team. Often some of these top-tier players are more individualistic 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 delivered more assists than her six, including her Barcelona teammates who provided a league-high 11 and 10 assists respectively.

But where Bonmati stood out more than any other player was in the moment before a goal was scored and an assist awarded by consistently providing the pass to the player who set up the goal, quietly initiating 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 finding spaces with and without the ball, in order to find solutions in every match.

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

In possession, she shifts to find space in a way that advantages the team, comparable to other players but from a higher starting position that often allows players less time and space.

For club and country, Bonmati intelligently ran into unorthodox positions, sometimes even leaving her position to move to the opposite side to generate 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 other-worldly small space dribbling becomes nearly impossible to stop.

Her leadership separates her from her contemporaries too.

Her relentless running, particularly in her defensive pressure, indirectly raises the level of intensity in her teams and has the strategic advantage of forcing teams back, preventing them from getting settled attacking possession.

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