Aitana Bonmatí and Pedro González "Pedri" received the 13th this Monday afternoon. Barça Players Award, awarded by the FC Barcelona Players Association in recognition of their fair play during the past season. The FC Barcelona players received the award from the president of the Association, Juan Manuel Asensi, in an event held at the Spotify Camp Nou Auditorium.
Leadership and humility
About Aitana Bonmatí, who receives the distinction for the second consecutive time - the jury of the Award wanted to highlight, among other qualities, the ability to lead, with simple gestures like the one he performed in Turin, in which he showed his medal of runner-up in front of the cameras, emphasizing the path traveled in the competition despite losing the final. "Last year - admits Aitana - was a very special season, full of very exciting moments, and for us it was a great success to reach the final of the Champions League, we had to appreciate the path we took".
In the case of Pedri, the jury chose him for his humility and modesty, always present despite having the admiration of all the fans. Without a doubt, a new benchmark for new generations of culers. Precisely, and taking into account the influence that footballers have on younger people, Pedri has recognized that the players "must touch the ground, we must be very clear that we are a point of reference".
For his part, the president of the Association, Juan Manuel Asensi, recalled that "union, sacrifice and work are the three values that marked me during my time at Barça".
A process open to all culer fans
At the end of last season, the popular votes were opened to all the fans to choose the FC Barcelona player with the most fair play. Once the voting was closed, a jury met to choose the winner from among the 6 most voted: in the men's category they were Pedri, Ter Stegen and Araújo. And as for the female category, the finalists were Alexia, Aitana and Mapi León. Among the 14 people who formed the jury were the general secretary of Sport, Anna Caula, the director of the Barça Foundation, Marta Segú, and representatives of the media.
Recognizing values since 2010
The Association launched the Barça Players Award in 2010. Since then the award has gone to Xavi Hernández (2012 and 2013), Andrés Iniesta, Bojan Krkic, Javier Mascherano, Leo Messi, Alexia Putellas, Carles Puyol, Ivan Rakitic, Sergi Roberto and Ter Stegen.