Winner for the second consecutive year of the Women's Ballon d'Or, Aitana Bonmati celebrated her trophy with her male partners from Barça on Monday evening in Paris. Among them, Lamine Yamal, 8th in the ranking, was intrigued by the prestigious trophy. And superstitious.
Another magical evening for Aitana Bonmati. As in 2023, the FC Barcelona player (26 years old) won the Women's Golden Ball. Unsurprisingly, the Spanish champion and winner of the Champions League with FC Barcelona and 2023 world champion with Spain beat two of her Barça teammates, the Norwegian Caroline Graham Hansen, and another Spaniard, Salma Paralluelo . Backstage at the Théâtre du Chatelet where the ceremony took place on Monday in Paris, Aitana Bonmati enjoyed her award with the Catalan delegation and in particular the boys nominated for the Ballon d'or. Among them, Lamine Yamal.
The 17-year-old crack player, 8th in the ranking, was obviously very curious. “He asked me if there was my name on the Ballon d’Or,” the Barcelona native told Mundo Deportivo. “I told him that I thought it was and I asked him if he wanted touch it.” And the winger who won the Kopa Trophy replied, ambitious and above all superstitious: “No, no, otherwise it will be bad luck.”
“An appreciable understanding” with the Barça men’s team
Aitana Bonmati says she then spent some time with Dani Olmo (13th in the Ballon d'Or). “There is a very good understanding between the men's team and the women's team. It's appreciable because we are all fighting for the same thing. People were very happy because we had a good week.”
Regarding her new triumph, the Catalan plays it modest: “I take things normally. Someone who sees it from the outside may think it's extraordinary but I see things simply, without thinking about the future. When a few years have passed, and I'm on my couch at home, I'll probably value it a lot more. I like to remember that it's a team story.” By then, Lamine Yamal will perhaps also have got his hands (literally) on a Golden Ball.
