It's incredible to think that, four years ago, Aitana Bonmati was the subject of one of the most shocking snubs in Ballon d'Or history. After playing a starring role in Barcelona's first Women's Champions League triumph, the midfielder looked sure to be in the mix for the Golden Ball – and yet, she didn't even make the 20-player shortlist. Did she take it personally? Knowing her focus on team over individual, perhaps not, but she's certainly made herself impossible to ignore in the interim, with Bonmati claiming a third successive Ballon d'Or on Monday.
It's an achievement that puts Bonmati in an exclusive club, alongside only Lionel Messi and Michel Platini, and that is a feat that highlights just how rare it is to be recognised as the most outstanding player in the world so consistently.
Granted, individual accolades in women's football don't have the same extensive history as those on the men's side, with the Ballon d'Or Feminin only introduced in 2018. However, a look at the honour roll of the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award, first handed out in 2001, offers a further glimpse into the elite company Bonmati now sits with.
Only Marta, widely considered the greatest women's player of all-time, and Birgit Prinz, not far behind the Brazilian in that conversation, achieved a three-peat. Despite still only being 27 years old, Bonmati's name now deserves to be mentioned in the same conversation as the all-time greats.
On its own, Monday's Ballon d'Or triumph cemented her status as the best player in the world right now. As a third Golden Ball in succession, meanwhile, it underlined the fact that Bonmati is already in legendary territory – with so much more of her career still to come.
Getty ImagesEarly signs
When Bonmati first really marked herself out as one of the best players on the planet on a wider scale in that 2020-21 season, she was just 23 years old and by no means playing at the level she is right now – yet her talent shone as Barcelona marched to a first Women's Champions League title.
Being named Player of the Match in the final, as the Catalans battered Chelsea 4-1, set the tone for the years to come. So often, Bonmati has scooped up those accolades on the biggest stages.
For those that followed Barca's mesmerising journey to that triumph, it was a real shock when the Ballon d'Or nominees were revealed. Not only did Bonmati deserve to be battling for the award, team-mate Caroline Graham Hansen did too.
Both would've been worthy inclusions on the podium as Alexia Putellas deservedly picked up her first Golden Ball. Fortunately, such snubs are a thing of the past for Bonmati at this point – and that's because Bonmati's brilliance has become obvious to absolutely everyone over the last four years.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesRising to the occasion
At Euro 2022, she was Spain's top performer on a huge stage, earning herself inclusion in the Team of the Tournament despite La Roja's quarter-final exit. Every other member of the XI at least made the semi-finals, except Bonmati.
That ability to not only withstand the pressure of the toughest challenges but seemingly get better when the moments are so great went up another level in the 2022-23 season, as she helped Barca win their second Champions League title and Spain win a first Women's World Cup.
She was the Champions League Player of the Season, the Player of the Match in the World Cup final and the Player of the Tournament for the whole event. All of those honours make her MVP award in the Supercopa de Espana final seem rather small, but that is further evidence of her being a player who rises to the occasion.
She would go on to be named the Champions League Player of the Season in three successive campaigns, claim another Player of the Match award in a UWCL final and be crowned the Best Player at the 2025 European Championships, amid her three successive Ballons d'Or, back-to-back triumphs at the FIFA Best awards and so much more.
Quite simply, this is a player who never goes missing. And Bonmati has worked to make sure that is the case.
Getty ImagesBecoming a complete player
Over the last few years, the diminutive midfielder has refined and enhanced her game to become the kind of complete footballer who is always able to influence a match, no matter how it is playing out.
When she first burst onto the scene, it was her intelligent movement and remarkable technical skill that stood out. With experience, she would start to translate the attacking threat that carried into reliable goal-scoring numbers.
After hitting nine in all competitions in the 2019-20 season, the midfielder has passed double figures in all five seasons since. The statistics are not the be all and end all, but she makes sure she is always contributing.
There was a conscious effort from Bonmati to work on the defensive side, too, so that her impact on her team was not limited to one end of the pitch.
"I'm little," she said with a laugh, speaking to GOAL about this during the 2022-23 season, "but I try to help the team also in defensive tasks, in every part of the pitch. Three or four years ago, I decided that if I wanted to be a complete player, I had to do those things also. Not only score and make assists, but also do defensive tasks to help the team."
Getty ImagesThe evolution of Bonmati
After ticking off that particular box, Bonmati then started to become more influential in possession in deeper areas, rather than just in and around the box. Part of the drive behind that element related to what Jonatan Giraldez, the previous head coach at Barcelona, wanted from her in his set-up in the 2021-22 campaign in particular.
However, even as the demands on her have changed, for club and country, that comfort she has in dropping deep, picking up the ball and dictating games is still so evident. She really can do it all.
It's that evolution which makes her the best player in the world. No matter what the opposition is doing, no matter what the game state might look like, no matter the situation her team are in, Bonmati is able to morph her game into one which best suits the circumstances, because she is so talented, so intelligent and so well-learned. Because of that, it's essentially impossible for an opponent to shut her down, too. She is always going to leave her mark on a match.