Let’s go back to the beginning: how did a young Aitana fall in love with football? I have always said it was something innate. I started playing at school with the boys there because there were no girls playing then. I was around six or seven and I was also playing basketball. I would say it was innate because in my family we didn’t live for football [but] I was born with that desire to play it.
You joined Barça at the age of 14. Talk me through that move I was playing football just on the school grounds so I asked if I could be signed up to my town’s football team, Club Deportiu Ribes. I was there for four to five years and then I went to another team, Club de Futbol Cubelles. All the years I was there I was the only girl on the team. However, in Catalonia there’s a rule that as a cadete [14-15 years old] you can’t play in mixed teams any more. So that’s when I stopped playing with boys and I was lucky that Barcelona signed me at that moment.
How was it for you at that age to go to such a big club? Playing at Barcelona was always a dream for me but I always saw it as impossible. I was finishing the year with Cubelles, already knowing this would be my last year with boys and I would have to play with girls the following year and suddenly a fax arrived from Barcelona asking if I wanted to go to trials.
The trials weren’t just going through exercises. You had to immerse yourself in your age category and see how you trained with them. I played a friendly tournament with them and for me, after playing with boys all those years, I didn’t know what it was like to play with girls. It was a radical change in my day to day but also how I interacted with my teammates.
Playing with boys there was always a certain distance and it wasn’t always that they would accept that there was a girl on their team that played just as well or even better than them. Or even that I had a certain character. The first few years [at Barcelona] weren’t easy because of that change to playing with girls but it was more equal; we all had passed through hard years. We had worse general conditions in life simply for being girls, and in football even more. It was an interesting change that I like to remember sometimes, because it wasn’t easy.
What was your goal at that age? When I first arrived in Barcelona it is true that I didn’t really see a final objective because it was impossible to see it. In those times there wasn’t professional women’s football, not even at Barcelona. I thought I’d be there for a few years and that I’d maybe go to university and play in the United States. I actually signed up to take exams to be able to get into American universities and was in conversations with the University of Oregon. I had already been with Barcelona for four to five years and they weren’t really moving up through the ranks. But that was the moment I was called up to the first team.
What has always characterised me has been my mentality. I’ve never missed a training or a match. My mentality is something that I never lost and I think it’s been the key to what has made me the footballer I am. Talent is one thing, and you can work hard as well, but without this mentality of sacrifice, resilience, fight and to want to be better every day … I wouldn’t be the person I am today.
Is there something in particular that has stayed with you from those years? I have learned that being resilient, never letting my head drop and working every day has its benefits. You get to where you want to go. The journey isn’t pretty, but you have to accept that those [bad] moments have to exist to keep improving and know how you have to get better. And take on difficulties as opportunities instead of putting your head down and saying: ‘I’ve had enough.’
You went through two important transitions: from playing with boys to girls and then from girls’ to women’s football. How did you feel going into the first team? The first year I started to play with the first team was hard because I went from playing every minute throughout my academy years, being a very important player, to just being one more player on the team and hardly playing. That change from being a young girl to then being surrounded by women and, on top of that, being given a new role that I wasn’t used to, it was complicated. There were moments when I found it hard to have patience. My ambition and always wanting more was at fault here. I didn’t have a good time, especially in those first three years playing for the first team.
I knew that I could have had more opportunities than I was being given. Now I look back at it with perspective and I think I made good progress and got better every year. Those bad moments have made me the player that I am today, they were necessary.
What was the next objective you set for yourself? When I arrived to the first team it was hard to have the objective to win the Champions League because the team then was still developing and wasn’t at the level to be among the best in Europe. That came a bit further down the line when we really set our focus on it. We worked hard especially on the physical aspect of our game which we felt was the key part we were missing. And with that we gave ourselves the opportunity to be among the best.
For the first few years my objective was to make a space for me within the team and be a key player. I didn’t want to be just another player. Sometimes, I played on the wings; I didn’t have a set position on the team. I wanted to be an important player in the role that I thought I could thrive in. I think that with my characteristics and the position that could get the best out of me was always playing in midfield. My intention was to work every day to show them that I have a place in this team.
When did everything click, when was that moment when you felt you had a clear role in the team? The first year I truly felt like I took a big step forward and that I was being valued for what I was bringing to the team was when we won the Champions League in Gothenburg [2021]. In the previous year I already played a lot of minutes, and I was starting quite a lot, but my role as a starter wasn’t entirely concrete yet. I think, since then, I’ve been consistently at a really good level. In the end, it took eight years.
What do you think of when you reflect on all the work that has gone into your career? I know that no one has given me anything to be where I am. There has been a lot of graft behind it. I still remember when I was going home from training with my father, we would go on public transport and I would get home at 1am. I would have to leave training in a rush because if we didn’t we would miss the train. I wasn’t even able to shower at the training ground. There were hard years but the resilience that I have talked about has paid off. When I look at what I’ve been able to accomplish now I know that it’s not down to luck but all the hard work throughout the years.
You’ve won almost everything that you can: a World Cup, the Champions League, the league, the cup. What is next? It’s true that at 26 I have a decent list of accomplishments but I’m still hungry for more. The day I don’t have that hunger and ambition is the day I’ll retire from professional football. Today I still have that spark inside that makes me compete and train every day at the highest level. Also I still don’t have a Euros or an Olympic medal. There are still things to accomplish.
How has the before and after of the World Cup been for you? I don’t owe it all to the World Cup. It was an amazing year on both club and national team level and that has made an impact on a social level; we’ve reached more households. Of course, after our achievements your name is said more often and you’re more well-known on a national and international level. This all helps, winning always helps.
I always give the credit to everyone involved, we’ve accomplished an amazing year in all the teams that I’m part of and because of that I’ve been nominated and won the awards that I have. There was obviously a before and after. Before I was known but not at the level that I’m known now. In the end, it’s how you handle it. For me, nothing has changed for me in my day to day in terms of how I live my life.
How does it make you feel that people recognise you and appreciate you for your footballing merits? That people value and respect what you have accomplished … It’s gratifying to know that I’m an idol for a lot of people. That’s why I try to, on top of everything I do on the pitch, be recognised for what I do off the pitch as well. For me it’s important. I think that when you look at someone and when you idolise a player, you always focus on their complete person and not only what they’ve done on the pitch. For me it’s something really gratifying and something I try to protect a lot. At the end of the day, when my career is done, all the awards and titles that I will have won are great but knowing that you’ve made a lot of people happy is for me what is the most gratifying part of it.
The before and after of Spanish football, how has it been for you to be a key part of that process? I’ve been lucky to have lived the progression of women’s football over the last few years. I’ve lived the beginning but I wouldn’t say the end because there’s still a lot of things to progress. It’s true that, in a short amount of time, our conditions and everything that we have now has changed radically.
Winning also gets you better conditions, right? I have to give credit to Barcelona as they have been a unique club and a pioneer because they’ve really supported and believed in us to be able to be professional footballers. Thanks to them providing all the tools to be able to do that, us players have had the opportunity to develop in the best conditions. That was unthinkable not too long ago.
How would you like to be remembered when you finish your career? Obviously I want people to remember me as a great footballer and one that was able to inspire a lot of people. But also, for what I’ve been able to do away from the pitch. I always try to keep that important balance. I always try to be closer to people and be with fans because I think we owe a lot to them. Without them we wouldn’t be where we are now, and we wouldn’t be able to live experiences like selling out Camp Nou. So I want to be remembered as a great footballer but also someone who had values off the pitch and tried to make changes on a social level, so names of women’s footballers are able to reach to more homes.
