Aitana Bonmati has opened up on the appeal of two very different options for her future after signing a new Barcelona contract, despite WSL interest.
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Bonmati was subject of WSL interest this summerBut signed new Barca contract last monthHas opened up on future possibilitiesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Amid rumours of interest from English champions Barcelona, the Spain star put pen to paper on a new deal in Catalunya last month, with her previous contract having been set to expire in the summer of 2025. According to , the new terms have made Bonmati the highest-paid player in the women's game, and she is now set to stay at the club until 2028.
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The midfielder made her senior Barcelona debut in 2016, aged 18, and has gone on to make nearly 300 appearances in the time since, winning 18 major honours and the Ballon d'Or. As such, she has achieved iconic status at the club and could add to that by seeing out her career with the reigning European champions.
WHAT BONMATI SAID
However, in an interview with , Bonmati admitted that there is also appeal in England's WSL. "That would be nice to be a one-club player," she said. "For now, I've been playing for Barcelona since I was 13 years old. It would be nice if I could end my career like this. But you never know. I'd never close the door. You never know what might happen in the future. But for now, I'm here for four more years, so I want to enjoy.
"[The WSL] is a league that is so nice because England are investing a lot in women's football since the Euros – I cannot say the same about here in Spain. Of course, it's a league that we have to keep watching, to be like them for helping women's football grow.
"I would say that England is an example off the field. Barca as a club is the same, but I would say England as a country. They won the Euros and took this as an opportunity to invest and help to grow women's football. And they are doing things so good – they are putting a lot of people in the stadiums. They are opening their (men's teams') stadiums every single week – this is so nice. Also, they are investing in brands, publicity and marketing. They are an example for everything."
DID YOU KNOW?
Chelsea were heavily linked with Bonmati before she signed her new contract in Barcelona. Several publications in Spain reported that the Blues were willing to pay her €3 million (£2.55m/$3.26m) release clause, thus setting a new record for a transfer in women's football. However, Bonmati's priority was Barca.