Bonmatí “absolutely devastated” as Barça miss out on opportunity to win third consecutive Women’s Champions League | OneFootball

Aitana Bonmatí hopes that Barcelona can “come back stronger next year” after their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in the 2024/25 UEFA Women’s Champions League final.

The midfielder, who has won the Ballon d’Or Féminin twice, revealed to Catalunya’s TV3 that she was left “absolutely devastated” by the loss, which saw The Gunners claim their first UWCL title in 18 years.

“I don’t believe it. I just want to start the game again and do it differently. But this is football, this will serve us to come back stronger next year.”

Bonmatí, 27, apologised to Barcelona’s travelling fans following the loss, with more than 15,000 supporters understood to have made the trip from Catalunya to Lisbon.

“We’re really sorry, we gave everything,” she explained. “We were not at our best, and football penalises you when you’re not. Now we have to keep working hard, and what’s happened here in Lisbon has to serve to improve in the future.”

“It’s hard looking at the stands and seeing all the supporters” after a defeat, she revealed, adding that “a large part of the sadness and frustration I have is for the fans that have come.”

“We’ll be back,” she assured them.