Aitana Bonmati decided to stay in Barcelona 100% because of the club. If he had given importance to the Spanish league, the departure would have been clear.
When Fence Bonmati recently signed a four-year contract extension with FC Barcelona, he became According to ESPN the highest paid female player of all time.
Twice voted as the best player in the world, Bonmati has celebrated five league championships and three Champions League victories in Barca.
His salary is not public information, but in the English Super League, for example, the best earn between 400,000 and 600,000 euros a year. In the women’s leagues, you can also find big payers in the USA and France. However, ESPN’s sources assured that Bonmat’s salary is the highest ever.
Compared to men’s salaries, the difference is still negligible.
For example, Chelsea attracted Bonmat with strong offers. The 26-year-old star player said he would have left the Catalan club had it not been a “pioneer” in women’s football. Barcelona have won three of the last four Champions Leagues.
Instead, Bonmati criticized the Spanish women’s series with harsh words For The Athletic. In his opinion, Liga F is “in a state of stagnation”.
First of all, the Spanish league is very uneven, which made Bonmat hesitate to continue.
– I put more emphasis on the fact that Barca is a club that is really committed to women’s football and a pioneer in the world.
– My decision to stay is 100% due to Barca as a club. If my decision had been to join the Spanish league instead of the club, I wouldn’t have stayed. That’s clear.
In Bonmat’s opinion, the Spanish league has the potential to be a real top league, but other leagues are passing by at breakneck speed.
– We have stopped. We are not developing at all. The league doesn’t even have a sponsor. How to bet on this league? Who leads this league?
For example Marion Caldentey and Laia Codina have moved from Barca to Arsenal. The English Super League is a series that should be followed as a model in Spain, says Bonmati.
The North American NWSL has been a high-level and attractive professional league for a long time. The English Super League has developed by leaps and bounds. And it’s not just about the quality of the game, it’s about the economy, conditions, fan and media interest, sponsors and so on.
– We should be more humble and look at how the English leagues do things. And if these changes don’t start happening, it’s a sign that the people running the Spanish league aren’t interested.
Barcelona has started the Spanish league with two wins and will face Sevilla on Saturday night.