Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati has scored another first by surpassing Lionel Messi after the Ballon d'Or

Barcelona has arguably their greatest era of women's footballers currently on their hands, as the all-conquering team looks to win it all this year. Led by Aitana Bonmati, the Blaugrana do not seem tired of breaking records.

Bonmati has cleaned up at collective and individual level over the last 12 months, winning the World Cup and Champions League, as well as being named FIFA Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or. Perhaps not equally, but certainly impressive, a study by Apple Tree and Rybold, as cited by Reliefsaw Bonmati outside Lionel Messi (his opposite Ballon d'Or winner in the men's game) after the event. 51% of media reports after the award night were about Bonmati, compared to 49% for Messi.

Also, the women's game has made ground in terms of more general coverage. The same pairing found that news about the women's game has grown from 14% to 29% compared to the men's game in the year 2023, which shows that the ground is still being made.

Bonmati he has been a force for change both on and off the field, albeit for a short time pessimistic on the progress of the Spanish game for women. While she might not see the necessary changes, Bonmati is certainly leading the game in terms of capturing attention.