Spanish international Mariona Caldentey from Felanitx has been named the best player in the WSL. This is yet another milestone for the Mallorcan, who continues to prove that she is one of the best players on the planet. ‘I thought Alessia (Russo) would win it. I’m very excited. I’ve felt very comfortable playing football here. This last month has been really incredible for me,’ admitted Mariona after the final decision was announced.
The world champion was signed with great fanfare last summer from Barcelona. The Mallorcan took on the enormous challenge of joining one of the most powerful and competitive leagues in the world. Her adaptation has been perfect, making everyone forget in one fell swoop that she was the star of Arsenal.
What Mariona has achieved in her first season in the Premier League is admirable. She has helped the Gunners to the Champions League final, something the London club had not achieved in 18 years.
The Mallorcan striker will be one of the contenders for the next Golden Ball. At 29, she is at the peak of her career, no longer under the umbrella of Barça, the all-conquering champions. The Arsenal striker is among the favourites for the prestigious award, alongside Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmatí and Salma Paralluelo. Her father was a football coach and her mother is a nurse by profession.
Caldentey began playing football at the age of four in her local team as an after-school activity. She later played futsal in Manacor, where she won multiple titles and played in three Spanish championships. Although Caldentey did not develop in La Masia, she has had a lifelong connection to FC Barcelona: her father was one of the original members and promoters of Els Tamarells, the largest Barcelona penya. He had been president of CE Felanitx after coaching the team (among others), and died suddenly while travelling in 2018.
In 2013, after she won bronze at the 2013 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship, Felanitx town hall placed a plaque in honour of Caldentey. Els Tamarells began a campaign to rename the municipal pitch where CE Felanitx play after Caldentey in July 2018, and this ultimately happened in 2020; the Camp de Futbol Es Torrentó Mariona Caldentey Oliver was the first public space in Felanitx to be named after a woman.