'I learned a lot in Vietnam': Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí shares insights from her trip

"My favorite way to disconnect is to travel. A few years ago, I was trekking in the Vietnamese mountains near the rice fields, and I saw some kids running around on sharp rocks. They were alone, without shoes, sitting on the edges of some seriously tall cliffs. In our culture, their parents would have rushed after them, screaming, ‘Hey, get down from there!’ But these kids were just smiling and chilling," the Barcelona Femeni star shared in an interview with The Players' Tribune.

"In Europe, we have everything, yet we often think about what we don’t have. Those kids didn’t even have shoes, but they were happy."

2-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí. Photo courtesy of Bonmatí's Instagram

According to AP, the 26-year-old midfielder retained her Ballon d'Or title at Monday’s ceremony after her contributions to Barcelona's Spanish league, Spanish cup, and Champions League victories.

Bonmatí joins her Barca teammate Alexia Putellas as a two-time winner since the women’s award was introduced in 2018. She bested teammates Caroline Graham Hansen of Norway and Salma Paralluelo of Spain, securing a Barcelona 1-2-3 finish.

The award for 2024 now sits alongside Bonmatí’s first Ballon d'Or from last year.