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Sep 16, 2024, 08:37 AM ETAitana Bonmatí has been the best player at Barcelona, the most dominant team in recent seasons. Eric Alonso/Getty Images
Barcelona have announced that Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí has signed a new four-year contract, extending her stay at the club until 2028.
Sources have told ESPN that the agreement will see Bonmatí become the highest-paid player in the women’s game.
Some of the biggest clubs in the world had been monitoring the midfielder, whose previous deal was due to expire at the end of the 2024-25 season.
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Cristian Martín, Bonmatí’s agent, revealed last week that Chelsea were even prepared to pay the €3 million ($3.3m) release clause included in her last contract.
Meanwhile, Barça have shown their desire to remain at the top of the women’s game by following up the renewal of two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas with a huge new deal for Bonmatí.
Salaries in women’s football are not public, but sources told ESPN the top earners in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the Women’s Super League (WSL) earn between €400,000 and €600,000, annually.
Outside of the United States and England, Barça and Lyon are among the other clubs to also pay significant wages, with Putellas and Ada Hegerberg both signing bumper new deals with their respective clubs recently.
However, an ESPN source assured that Bonmatí’s new deal with the back-to-back European champions is in excess of anything being paid in the game.
Bonmatí has made over 250 appearances for Barça’s first team, winning five league titles and three Champions Leagues, among other trophies.
She has also helped Spain win the Women’s World Cup and the UEFA Women’s Nations League, earning her the Ballon d’Or and The Best FIFA Women’s Player awards in 2023.
