Spain and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati took home the coveted Ballon d’Or for a record third time on Monday, reports BBC Sport.
“My third time in a row here, and I still can’t believe it. Incredible,” Bonmati said at the ceremony.
Awarded by France Football, the Ballon d’Or Féminin honours the best-performing player over the previous season according to a vote by a jury of journalists. First awarded in 2018, it has gone to Barcelona players now for five consecutive years, captain Alexia Putellas taking the top prize in 2021 and 2022.
“If it was possible to share it I would, because I think it has been a year with an exceptionally high level, above all among my teammates, who had a great year,” Bonmati told the crowd.
Three Barcelona teammates – Putellas (4), Patricia Guijarro (6) and Ewa Pajor (8) – made it into the top 10, with Putellas and Guijarro also representing Spain alongside Bonmati and Arsenal winger Mariona Caldentey (2). The Kopa trophy, honouring players under 21, went to club and country teammate Vicky López.
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Bonmati may have missed out on the biggest prizes for club and country this past season, but both teams still finished strong.
Barcelona finished eight points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid. The midfielder shone in the Champions League, her club falling just short of retaining its title after a 1-0 loss to Arsenal in the final. Bonmati snagged the competition’s player of season title from UEFA, her third win in a row, on the strength of nine goal contributions in 11 appearances and scoring in their 4-1 semi-final second-leg win at Chelsea.
After landing in the hospital with viral meningitis just days before Euro 2025 kicked off, Bonmati’s participation was in serious doubt. Her recovery proved pivotal for Spain, scoring the winning goal in their semi-final against Germany.
“If Spain are going to win a game, it will be a player like Bonmati that is able to take the game by the scruff of the neck in these moments and get that goal,” former England midfielder Fara Williams said on BBC One.
That game-winning goal helped Spain reach a Euro final for the first time, although they eventually lost to England on penalties. Bonmati previously won the Euro 2024 and the 2023 World Cup with Spain, as well as numerous titles with Barcelona stretching back to 2016, when the footballer was just 18.
