Aitana Bonmatí is the best female footballer in the world. Her three consecutive Ballon d'Or awards (2023–2024–2025) are proof of this. However, whilst she was lifting these trophies and winning everything on the pitch, she had another responsibility: passing her university exams. Her story shows that reaching the sporting elite does not mean you have to give up your studies.

During her most demanding years with FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, Aitana never left the classroom. She graduated in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, and later went on to complete a Master’s in Sports Management. Classes, notes and practical assignments coexisted in her diary alongside training sessions, international trips and high-pressure matches.

This commitment to education has a clear origin: her family. Aitana is the daughter of two language and literature teachers, Rosa and Vicent. She grew up in a home where learning and reading were always a priority. From a very young age, she was taught that football was important, but that intellectual development was non-negotiable for keeping her feet on the ground and preparing for life.

In this instalment of the ‘Academy of Champions’, we take a look at the player who breaks the mould. Aitana’s story offers a key lesson for the next generation: reaching the very top of your profession is no excuse to stop learning. That is why, on this occasion, we examine how she managed to study and be the best in the world at the same time.

The roots: A home with the soul of a library

To understand this side of Aitana, one must look at her family background. Her parents, Rosa Bonmatí and Vicent Conca, are teachers of Catalan language and literature. They did not pressure her to become a footballer, but they did instil in her from a young age the value of knowledge. In their home in Sant Pere de Ribes, reading was a daily habit that she adopted quite naturally.

That family influence shaped her interests off the pitch. Aitana has tastes that defy the stereotype of the elite athlete. In an interview with France Football, the Barça midfielder explained how her immediate circle was key to fostering this mindset.

“I really enjoy reading about the Second World War to understand it, to immerse myself in what happened, and sometimes I get the impression that humanity hasn’t learnt anything, that it keeps repeating the same mistakes. My family was important in that regard,” she explained in that interview in the living room of her home.

In that same conversation, Aitana perfectly summed up how she shaped her character thanks to the encouragement of her relatives: “All these interests come from them. I don’t know if my parents’ house is a house or a library; there are thousands of books. Thanks to them, I developed this love of reading, culture and the desire to understand the world.”

This desire to understand the world, fuelled by books, became a concrete academic goal. For Aitana, education was always as much of a priority as football. That intellectual foundation she received at home served as the driving force that spurred her to embark on her higher education.

The dual career: Studies at the pinnacle of football

Far from resting on her laurels on the pitch, Aitana Bonmatí decided to pursue a dual career: the ability to combine high-performance sport with university education. In that sense, her first major academic achievement was obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (CAFE).

Immediately afterwards, she took it a step further. In September 2022, coinciding with the start of the season in which she would win her first World Cup and her first Ballon d’Or, she enrolled on the Master’s in Sports Management at the Johan Cruyff Institute.

The most remarkable aspect of her academic journey is the moment she decided to study. She balanced her undergraduate and postgraduate years with her rise to prominence as a leader at FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team. Between training camps, trips across Europe and top-flight matches, Aitana also found time to revise her notes and submit her assignments.

In October 2022, when announcing her enrolment at the Johan Cruyff Institute, she made her stance on her studies very clear: “In the end, we always talk about the dual career, and I’d like to be an example of that too. I’m a professional athlete, but at the same time I’m also studying and preparing myself for the future.”

The midfielder knows that a football career has an expiry date and accepts this as a matter of course. That is why, at that same presentation, she highlighted her next goals: “Everyone knows that a sports career is short and that in the future I will have to work and make a living from something.”

"Sports management motivates me and I really enjoy it; I also like the fact that there are more women in the world of football, not just in women’s football, but in men’s football too, in important roles. That is definitely one of my goals," explained Aitana. She would love nothing more than to remain involved in football once her playing career is over.


Ambition for the future: Institutional leadership

Aitana Bonmatí’s ambition extends beyond the pitch and trophies. The Catalan is clear that, once her playing career is over, her professional future could lie in a senior role where she can make structural and institutional decisions that change history.

This vision also has a very firm social purpose: to increase the presence of women in senior management roles in world football. She is motivated by the idea of creating working structures, leading processes and demonstrating that management ability at the elite level has no gender.

Without going any further, in her biographical documentary, Aitana herself confessed to Pep Guardiola (her special guest) that she dreams of becoming FC Barcelona’s sporting director and that he would be the first-team manager during her tenure.

The current Manchester City manager, far from being embarrassed, doubled down on the offer: “I’d come for free, don’t worry. It wouldn’t be a financial issue. But there’s one problem I must warn you about: I’ll be the president and I’ll be the one signing you on as sporting director.”

"I’m a professional sportswoman, but I’m also studying. I want to set an example" – Aitana

It is at this point that her academic background takes on fundamental importance. The Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees Aitana completed form the technical foundation that will enable her to turn her ambition into reality. She understands that to lead an institution and make decisions that change the game of football, it is not enough to have been a brilliant player: one needs a level of preparation that only education can guarantee.

The best female footballer on the planet today demonstrates that academic knowledge can easily serve as a bridge between present-day success and future leadership. And her story confirms that, to lead the football of tomorrow, the first step is to never stop learning.