I feel very proud of the journey I’ve made, starting from scratch and achieving all we have achieved, both individually and as a team. I’m blessed to be able to say that I’ve experienced the before, during and after in the evolution of women’s football, which has also changed us as a society. The truth is that this makes me value even more all the effort I’ve put in from a very young age, since I started playing football when I was seven years old.

My main strength is my ambition. It’s about working hard, working hard, working hard – never giving up. Apart from the talent that’s developed here at La Masia [Barcelona’s youth academy], and the fact that we understand football in a very different way, I believe that the combination of hard work, ambition and talent has helped me become the player I am today.

I’m a very straightforward person and that may come as a surprise, given that I’m an elite athlete who’s achieved what I have. Sometimes, we think that being a great athlete or a great footballer has to mean having a distant, inaccessible personality. For me, it’s just the opposite. Sometimes, I think this shocks people. I see it as a positive thing because I try to normalise success in a natural, simple way, and get closer to everyone. I don’t take it to an extreme that’s not healthy. I normalise it for my team-mates and for everyone who sees us. I believe being an uncomplicated person and being successful can go hand in hand, and this is something that’s needed in football and sport in general. I try to bring that. Off the pitch, I also try to be a very professional player.

I’m a person who really helps the people around me, my inner circle, and I always try to help the newcomers here in the dressing room because I know that joining a club like this is tough, leaving home and not knowing the language. So, especially in the early stages, I try to help people, lend a hand and make things easier for them. I also think that I speak out quite a lot about issues I see as unfair. I really don’t tolerate injustice and I like to use my voice beyond the football pitch. I think my role is really important in this respect.

I aim to be an example for all players and all young girls, showing that the work we do every day is not only the drills we do on the pitch but everything we do off the pitch as well: rest, nutrition, good habits. I try to set an example, just like I do on the pitch, because I never waste a training session. I keep the same ambition in every session, and that’s who I am. I try to improve different aspects every day and I’ve done that since I was young. I have that mentality of never being satisfied and always wanting to get better and improve.

I value the fans and try to be close to them, to all the people who support us. We shouldn’t forget that part of everything we experience is thanks to them, and I believe it’s important to set an example in this way too. I like to joke around, and I open up with the people I really trust. I’d say I’m modest, ambitious and nonconformist.

I hope that when I retire, there will be a beautiful legacy of Aitana in terms of football, of course, for everything I will have contributed with my game, with my way of understanding this sport and of fighting for every objective. I believe it’s not only about what I’ve achieved individually but also about the journey I’ve been on since I was seven years old. I always like to remember the whole process, from start to finish, and everything I’ve been through. I don’t think things happen by chance. I want people to understand my story, and to recognise that this story could be anyone else’s. Off the pitch, it’s the same. I want to be remembered as a player who fights injustice, who is not afraid of consequences, and who uses her voice to reach many homes. That, I hope, will be my lasting legacy.