The making of Spain and Arsenal's humble magician

"For as long as Mariona Caldentey can remember, she had dreams of playing on the biggest stages and winning the biggest prizes. She became a world champion with Spain in 2023 and has won four Champions League titles with Barcelona and Arsenal. Now the 29-year-old midfielder is one of the nominees for the Ballon d'Or after a dream debut season in the Women's Super League."

"Caldentey grew up in the small town of Felanitx, on the island of Mallorca. She was close to her older brother and her cousins and they played football together at her grandmother's house as a child. At the age of four, Caldentey joined the local football team - an after-school futsal club in Manacor. She was the only girl on the team but enjoyed huge success, winning multiple titles, including the Spanish Futsal Championships."

""Football was always around me because of my family," Caldentey told BBC Sport. "My older brother played, my dad was a coach - he was the president of a club [CE Felanitx] and played before that - and my grandfather and cousins played as well. "I grew up in that environment and nobody told me it was just for men. I always felt supported. I was lucky. " [Futsal was] how I started. That's quite typical in Spain when you are a kid. I started to combine 11-a-side with five-a-side because I loved it so much. I did both for years."

Mariona Caldentey began playing futsal and 11-a-side from age four in Felanitx, Mallorca. Family involvement in football shaped her early development, with an older brother, coach father and other relatives playing. She won multiple youth futsal titles and joined El Collerense in the Spanish first division at 14. An ACL injury in her second training session almost ended her career, but she recovered and made a Copa de la Reina debut a year later. She became a 2023 World Champion with Spain, won four Champions League titles with Barcelona and Arsenal, and earned a Ballon d'Or nomination after a strong debut season in the Women's Super League.

Read at www.bbc.com