BARCELONA, Spain — Everything has happened so quickly for Aitana Bonmati that the Barcelona midfielder, voted the fifth best player in the world in this year’s Ballon d’Or, has hardly had a moment to take in the scale of the success she has had.
On Saturday, she will play in her fourth Champions League final in five years. Last season, en route to the final which they lost to Lyon, Barca twice broke the attendance record in women’s football. A crowd of 91,553 attended their quarterfinal win against Real Madrid at Camp Nou, with 91,648 present for their semifinal victory over Wolfsburg, who they meet again in this weekend’s showpiece in Eindhoven.
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Domestically, the only way to describe this Barca side is “all-conquering.” They have won four consecutive Liga F titles, two under previous coach Lluis Cortes and two more with his successor, Jonatan Giraldez, and, during that time, embarked on a 62-game winning run. Though, after wrapping up this year’s title, that streak ended with a draw at Sevilla and they then lost their unbeaten run against Madrid CFF last week, clocking out at 64 games.
That success has had a knock-on effect. Players like Bonmati and two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas have become idols for a new generation of fans. Bonmati is one of six players whose face adorns the ginormous facade outside Camp Nou’s main stand. She can no longer pass through the streets of Barcelona unnoticed, while commercial and media commitments have surged.
“I almost haven’t realised, but thinking about it now, I realise [my life] has changed, but it has happened so quickly that you don’t take it in,” Bonmati tells ESPN ahead of Saturday’s final.
Bonmati, 25, was never prepared for this…
