Mariona Caldentey
Basel, Switzerland – July 27th, 2025: Mariona Caldentey (8 Spain Womens National Team) during the UEFA Womens Euro match of Spain vs England at St. Jakob-Park.
Mariona Caldentey arrived at Arsenal in 2024, having spent a decade at Barcelona before that. The 29-year-old was joining the London club at the peak of her powers and has been a success for Arsenal.
That was demonstrated by narrowly missing out on the 2025 Ballon d’Or. The Arsenal player came second, beaten by her international teammate Aitana Bonmatí.
The pair had also played together for Barcelona, know each other well, and have a healthy rivalry.
Marca have a feature celebrating Mariona Caldentey, as she’s set to hit 100 caps for Spain. They’ve spoken to the Arsenal player at length about various topics and how she sees her career going from here.
The Spanish newspaper specifically picked up on the Ballon d’Or second place and wanted to know if there’s any disappointment at losing out. The race for first place was close, and some feel the forward can feel unfortunate.
In the response, the Arsenal star said: “No, not at all. Obviously, it’s a super important award that we’d all love to win, but Aitana (Bonmatí) took it after an incredible season. I was happy for her and congratulated her. In the end, these individual awards in a team sport with diverse tastes are difficult. I’m happy to have won the Champions League and received other individual awards in my first year in England. Not winning the Ballon d’Or doesn’t change how proud I am of the season I had.
“It’s very difficult, of course, but I feel great at Arsenal and even more confident than last year. I hope it happens again. And if not this year, then next year, when there’s a tournament with the national team.”
Why transfer future not an immediate concern
On her future and a potential return to Spain, Mariona Caldentey said: “It’s hard to think about the future. I’m happy, content, enjoying a different league. I don’t know where I’ll end my career, but I do hope to play for a long time yet.
“It’s true that in football, when you turn 30, the perception of a player changes, but I have examples like Irene (Paredes) and Kim (Little) who prove that age is just a number.”
Now Arsenal will hope she pushes to get that Ballon d’Or with top performances for them and the Spain national side.