Bonmati's incredible form in the 2022-23 season helped Barcelona to a magnificent treble, recording a competition-leading 12 goal involvements as the Blaugrana claimed Champions League glory, before she also played a major role in Australia and New Zealand as her national team Spain won the Women's World Cup for the first time.
Bonmati was given the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player, and the midfielder is the favourite to collect more individual silverware in the near future having been named among the nominees to pick up the Ballon d'Or, the winner of which will be announced at a ceremony in Paris in late October.
Pauleta fully expects Bonmati to be named the 2022-23 season's best player, pointing to Zidane, the winner of the men's Ballon d'Or in 1998, as a star Bonmati shares traits with.
When asked who she thought should claim the trophy, Pauleta told Stats Perform at the Thinking Football Summit: "I say Aitana [Bonmati] because she had an incredible season with Barcelona and Spain.
"I played against her in the Champions League. I felt something about [Zinedine] Zidane in her game. She's aggressive but with the ball, she's so sweet. She always puts the ball where it needs to be.
"The game is better when she is playing. She has this quality that makes her play beautifully."
Among the other nominees competing with Bonmati is Mary Earps, the Manchester United and England goalkeeper who won the Golden Glove at the World Cup as the tournament's best shot-stopper, saving a penalty from Bonmati's Spain team-mate Jennifer Hermoso in the final.
Prior to her heroics with the Lionesses, Earps had helped United to a strong Women's Super League campaign as well as the club's first-ever FA Cup final.
Fellow goalkeeper Patricia Morais believes Earps should become the first Ballon d'or winner from their position, saying: "I think it will be the England goalkeeper [Earps], for sure. I have no doubt that she will win.
"She's a world-class goalkeeper. She deserves it because I like her style, how she plays football and I identify myself with her."
The goalkeeper was at United for five years, helping them to lift their first-ever FA Cup in May.
However, they failed to challenge for the Women's Super League title last season, finishing fifth, 20 points behind winners Chelsea.
Earps' biggest successes have come in an England shirt, with their European Championship victory in 2022, while she was also awarded the Golden Glove at the 2023 World Cup, in which the Lionesses reached the final.
She joined PSG as a free agent in July, signing a two-year deal with the club, who finished as runners-up in the Premiere League last season and are set to play for a sixth-straight season in the Women's Champions League.
Earps admitted that while it was a difficult decision to leave Manchester, she is hungry for even more success.
"I cannot wait. I'm so excited to get going," Earps told the Tooney & Russo show.
"It was a tough decision to make because I was there [at United] for so long and I have great relationships with people, so you don't just pick your life up and move on a whim.
"But equally, the opportunity to play for a great team in top competitions, being in a position to win silverware, I've been fortunate enough to have a really good few years and win a few trophies, and it's just a feeling that's hard to explain because people think she's won some silverware, she's done.
"But it's like an itch you can never scratch enough. I'm looking forward to doing that and hopefully adding a few trophies to the cabinet."
Earps started all 22 of United's WSL matches last season, keeping seven clean sheets and making 60 saves.
She was one of three players to leave the Red Devils on a free transfer at the end of last season, with captain Katie Zelem and forward Lucia Garcia also leaving the club.
Morgan’s fellow Lioness, Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps, this week posted on Instagram after she was tagged in a post-match comment by a parent who claimed the award-winner was “far too busy and important to stop for her fans these days”, admitting she found the accusation “hurtful” when she had taken time to meet as many as she could.
It is easy for Morgan, who was at the age of five already a Manchester City season-ticket holder, to put herself in the shoes of supporters hoping for a post-match meeting with an idol.
She has also witnessed popular team-mates like Chloe Kelly become upset after being unfairly criticised for not getting to everyone – when the reason can sometimes be as straightforward as needing to board a bus.
Morgan said: “You can’t please everyone and you always remember that one person who wasn’t happy with you as opposed to all the people whose day you made and they were really grateful.
“We love being able to go over and make someone’s day and see how excited people get but with the growth of the game now it’s just not really realistic and feasible for us to get round and see everyone.
“It’s difficult when sometimes maybe some fans feel like the expectation is that they’re going to get to meet you and in years gone by that might have been an option, not as many fans were coming to the games so you might be able to get round everyone.
“It is really hard because I’m sure at that age I would have been disappointed and so gutted that I was so close to meeting one of my heroes, but the growth of the game now means there’s just so many more people interested and so many more people come to the games and want to meet people that it’s just not possible for us to get round it all.
“I think it’s nice that we can celebrate the interaction we have with fans but I think it’s difficult that, if it’s an expectation, players shouldn’t be made to feel bad about not getting round to everyone.”
Players like Morgan have embraced other means of interaction – she is fond of engaging with fans on her increasingly popular TikTok account and through charity initiatives – while new systems like the one being trialled at Manchester City’s Joie Stadium this season aim to facilitate smoother and more quality connections between players and fans.
‘Autograph Alley’ is a dedicated meet-and-greet point where a smaller group of randomly selected supporters enjoy post-match encounters with players, something which Morgan says “is a lot nicer for us actually because it’s a much calmer situation and atmosphere.”
She added: “You can spend a little bit more time chatting to people because not everyone is sort of screaming or going a bit crazy around you. Sometimes when you go around the edge of the crowd, you’re kind of getting screamed at and having things thrust in your face.”
Those still hoping to snag an England player’s signature would do well to take a cue from young Morgan herself. A little politeness, she said, goes a long way.
She added: “When I first started coming to City’s women’s matches I was just a kid in the crowd wanting to meet everyone. But I always felt like my manners were good and I’d always say please and thank you and things like that and sometimes I think that can be lost and that’s one of those things where it’s not a pleasant experience.
“I think if clubs can put something in place, like City have, making it a lot more well-managed and a calmer experience then I think it’s much more pleasant for everybody.”
Both teams had won every match en route to a highly anticipated decider at England's national stadium in front of a record crowd for a European Championship match, with 87,192 in attendance.
An extra-time winner from Chloe Kelly proved the difference as the Lionesses claimed their first major title, dealing rivals Germany their first defeat in nine Women's Euros finals.
Beth Mead was forced off in the final but had still done enough to be named player of the tournament, also edging the top scorer award on assists ahead of Alexandra Popp – who missed the match following an injury in the warm-up.
Yet there was room for both superstar performers in the official team of the tournament.
Mead was among four England players, with goalkeeper Mary Earps, captain Leah Williamson and midfielder pass master Keira Walsh each also recognised.
Meanwhile, Germany had five players included; along with Popp, defenders Giulia Gwinn and Martina Hegering made the cut, as did young player of the tournament Lena Oberdorf.
Next to Mead and Popp in the front three was Klara Buhl, even though coronavirus kept her out of both the semi-finals and the final.
France were beaten by Germany in the last four and were represented by defender Sakina Karchaoui, while Spain lost to both finalists but still had Aitana Bonmati make the XI.
Women's Euro 2022 team of the tournament:
Mary Earps (England); Giulia Gwinn (Germany), Leah Williamson (England), Martina Hegering (Germany), Sakina Karchaoui (France); Keira Walsh (England), Lena Oberdorf (Germany), Aitana Bonmati (Spain); Beth Mead (England), Alexandra Popp (Germany), Klara Buhl (Germany).
Earps left St. James' Park with crutches after sustaining an injury just eight minutes into Friday's 2-1 defeat against France.
That marred what should have been a memorable occasion for Manchester United goalkeeper Earps, who made her 50th appearance for the Lionesses.
England confirmed Earps will be unavailable for Tuesday's Euro 2025 qualifier away to France, with Birmingham City's Lucy Thomas joining Wiegman's 23-player squad for the trip to Saint-Etienne.
"Not the way the big 50 was meant to go, but grateful and hugely proud to have reached 50 caps for England," Earps posted to Instagram on Sunday.
"Thank you for your lovely messages, gutted that I've picked up a minor hip injury which will sideline me for a couple of weeks.
"Not something I'm used to but nothing a little bit of rest and relaxation won't fix – right behind the girls for Tuesday!"
England are third in Group A3 as Wiegman's side chase qualification for next year's European Championship in Switzerland.
The Lionesses have four points and are behind second-placed Sweden on goal difference, with France five clear at the top of the group after three games.
Wiegman's team then host Ireland on July 12 and play Sweden away four days later in their final group game.
England entered December's international window battling the Netherlands to top Group A1, needing to do so to keep Team GB's chances of reaching the 2024 Olympic Games alive.
Though the Lionesses beat the Oranje 3-2 on December 1, that result failed to put them in control of their own destiny, with a visibly upset Earps saying she had "let the team down" after allowing Lineth Beerensteyn's shot to squirm in at her near post.
Though England routed Scotland 6-0 in their final group game, that result was not enough as the Netherlands beat Belgium 4-0 with Damaris Egurrola scoring two stoppage-time goals.
That meant they edged out Sarina Wiegman's team by a single goal on the goal difference tiebreaker, preserving their own hopes of participating in Paris.
Though Earps' error eventually proved costly, Brown-Finnis says her performances throughout England's triumphant Euro 2022 campaign – as well as their run to this year's World Cup final – more than make up for it.
Speaking at the launch of the first ever Panini Barclays Women's Super League sticker collection at the National Football Museum, Brown-Finnis said: "I think she'll learn from that.
"You have an emotional reaction after the game and it's hard to keep that under wraps, whether that's good or whether that's a negative emotional reaction or an angry reaction.
"I think she'll learn that she was not to blame. She knows she made a mistake and she owned that mistake and she wanted to outwardly acknowledge that.
"I understand the sentiment behind [Earps apologising], but the amount of credit she has in the bank for her performances in the World Cup and the European Championships, since she's had that number one shirt on her back…
"She is the world's best goalkeeper. She's England's number one and she has nothing to be sorry for."
Earps enjoyed a stellar campaign as England finished as World Cup runners-up in August, winning the Golden Glove and saving a penalty in their 1-0 final defeat to Spain.
She won the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award earlier this month, seeing off competition from cricketer Stuart Broad and golf star Rory McIlroy.
Speaking alongside Brown-Finnis, Earps' England team-mate Chloe Kelly said: "Mary's unbelievable, a great personality, a great girl and unbelievable on the pitch.
"She's achieving great things at the minute, and it's all due to her hard work, her determination. Credit to her."
Manchester United forward Nikita Parris, who plays alongside Earps for both club and country, added: "She's massively important.
"Great team-mate, great player. She's had an unbelievable couple of years and she deserves all the awards she's up for.
"Don't forget BBC Sports Personality – that's a massive achievement, something that in England, we all love to watch. I really wish her the best."
