Aitana Bonmatí: “I want to learn to enjoy”

“When you arrive in Paris, everything goes very fast. It’s overwhelming. You have to put on makeup, comb your hair, get dressed. And go to the gala. It’s hard to enjoy. It would be idyllic to be able to arrive a day early. Waking up in Paris, walking along the Seine, having a chocolate croissant for breakfast… but that’s not possible,” says Aitana Bonmatí, a FC Barcelona soccer player who last Monday, at 26 years old, was crowned for the second consecutive year as the best footballer in the world.

“I didn’t know if I was going to win it. This year everything was secret. But I wasn’t nervous,” reveals the midfielder who, four days later, is preparing to fulfill several media commitments. “I still have pending messages. I get overwhelmed because I like to respond to everyone,” he admits as he begins the talk with journalists in the video room of the Estadi Johan Cruyff. It is there where he reviews all his games. That is where more is demanded. Where you check your mistakes. “Because I have them, huh? “I’m not perfect,” she insists. We invite you to explain what you propose. He is clear: “Improve my shot from outside the area. “I want to be more incisive.”

Everything goes very fast. I hope to wake up in Paris, walk along the Seine, have breakfast…”

She looks comfortable and serene. After winning the first Ballon d’Or, Aitana has learned to prioritize herself more. To reduce the number of commitments with your sponsors “You have to take care of yourself. Step by step. Now I manage myself better,” he says. Perhaps because of this new policy, Aitana accepts this more media-heavy part of her work without question. Aware that a few years ago she was an unknown professional struggling to make a living on the playing field. He doesn’t forget it.

She is currently the best player in the world for two consecutive years and the image of Adidas, Bimbo, Revlon, Alpro, Nissan, EA Sports and Topps. “A few years ago I had to buy shoes to play. Now they give them to me. And people know me,” he reflects. She says it while looking at the sneakers that Adidas has designed for her. They are golden in color. Along with the two Ballon d’Ors that he carries with astonishing naturalness. He has already gotten used to the 7.5 kilos of weight of the shiny trophy. “Lamine Yamal asked me if my name is inscribed on it. Honestly, I had to look at it. When the years go by and I am retired on the couch in my house, I will value it much more,” he says.

“A few years ago I had to buy shoes to play. Now they give them to me”

Aitana knows that this statement is surprising and the journalists present at that talk let her know. “I understand your surprise. When I was little and saw Messi lift Ballon d’Ors from the sofa at home I was also amazed. But once you are inside you live it naturally,” he insists.

Because Aitana prefers soccer fields to galas. And family gatherings to the crowds. She confesses that before traveling to Paris she was “very calm in a house with my friends in La Garrotxa.” And she adds that last year, even though she knew she was going to win, she was more nervous. “It was the first time I had to stand there and speak to the jet set of the world of football,” he confesses. “When this maelstrom passes, I would like to organize a meal with mine. Although some of us would have to take care of ourselves more than others because we train… but that is our daily bread,” he remembers. Always bringing out that professional side. In fact, he recognizes that, beyond improving his shot, one of his pending goals is to “enjoy these unique moments. But during the day we do too many things and sometimes it is difficult.”

His family always reminds him of this pending issue. His parents Vicent Conca and Rosa Bonmatí. Two teachers of Catalan language and literature. Thanks to them Aitana, who bears her mother’s first surname, grew up in a home where knowledge and culture have always been fundamental. She doesn’t care if they criticize her for making speeches in Catalan. It happened in Paris, where he alternated his mother tongue with Spanish and English. “I respond in the way I feel most comfortable and I am not going to change. Knowing languages ​​is a luxury. We don’t have to justify ourselves for it,” he says. Without a doubt, it has more important struggles.

I respond in the way I feel most comfortable and I am not going to change. Knowing languages ​​is a luxury”

Like that of the professionalization of Spanish football, which has required two years of demands to sign a new collective agreement. The draft includes a series of rules to protect situations such as motherhood or protection against gender violence. And minimum salaries of 23,500 euros. “I don’t know what else needs to be done to give us the value we deserve. It’s what we’ve had to do. To us and to those who will come,” Aitana acknowledged, with the most serious look. Although she is a privileged soccer player along with her Barça teammates, she assumes “that we have a responsibility beyond the field of play.”

“I don’t know what else needs to be done so that those in power give us the value we deserve”

We finish the talk with other curiosities. Aitana confesses that “she doesn’t like salsa”, that she loved that Natalie Portman, actress and one of the owners of the American women’s club Angel City, gave her the trophy and that she shared a chat with Rodri, winner of the men’s Ballon d’Or. “I thanked him for claiming the role of midfielders. We are the engine of the team,” he insists. “I also asked Lamine Yamal if he wanted to play it and he said no. I didn’t want to jinx it,” he adds. Regarding the Louis Vuitton brand dress that she chose, Aitana explains that “although I like the color black better, I kept the white one for a change.” His childhood friends, Maria and Adrià, helped him choose it. “They and my environment help me be the same person I was 15 years ago.”

By the way. Without mentioning Vinícius, he noted that “even if I had known that I wouldn’t win it, I would have gone to Paris. You have to have respect.”