Aitana Bonmati has called on Spain’s “stagnating” Liga F to improve by learning from England’s Women’s Super League (WSL).
The 26-year-old was speaking to The Athletic after renewing her contract with Barcelona through to 2028, and the midfielder said that she would have left Spanish football had it not been for the Catalan club being “pioneers” in the women’s game.
The Spain international agreed a lucrative contract extension with Barcelona despite strong interest from Chelsea, who enquired about her availability.
The Ballon d’Or winner has made 275 appearances for Barcelona and scored 96 goals as the Catalan club has established itself as a dominant force in the women’s game in recent years, winning five successive Liga F titles and three of the last four Champions Leagues.
Bonmati admitted that the imbalance in Spanish club football was an issue she thought about before renewing her Barcelona contract, saying that it impacts players on a “day-to-day basis”.
“I weighed more on the balance that Barca is a club that has made a real commitment to women’s football, that is a pioneer in the world,” Bonmati told The Athletic.
“We are a club who reach many Champions League finals and we know that we should not take this for granted, because it is such a high level, but we have the intention and predisposition to get there. That is what says a lot about the club.
“My decision to stay is 100 per cent because of Barca as a club and if my decision was focused on the league instead of the club, then I would not have stayed, this is clear.
“Other leagues are overtaking us at an incredible speed, when we have the potential to be a top league, an example of a league.”
Two of Bonmati’s former team-mates, Mariona Caldentey and Laia Codina, have both joined Arsenal in the past year and have spoken about the WSL being a huge pull for Spain’s top players.
Their international team-mates Laia Aleixandri and Leila Ouahabi (both Manchester City) are others who have swapped Spanish football for England.
Bonmati added: “We are stagnating. We are not getting any better. The league does not even have a sponsor; what interest is being put into the league? Who is running the league?
“We should be more humble and look at how the English leagues do things, and if those changes do not come then it is a sign of people who run this league not being interested in moving forward.”
Barcelona have won both of their opening games of the new Liga F season.
They next face Sevilla on Saturday.
(Top photo: Maja Hitij – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
