But it was about so much more than just money. Playing conditions were primitive. Surfaces were dirt pitches that doubled as car parks on matchdays and changing rooms were sheds crammed with up to 30 people and fitted with inadequate showers that would always quickly run out of hot water.
“We didn’t ask for the same financial earnings, because you also have to be aware of what men’s and women’s football generate, but we did deserve to play on a decent pitch and to have a decent locker room,” she said.
To add insult to injury they also had to pay their own travel expenses to get not only to and from the ground for training, but also on matchdays. When they asked if they could be reimbursed for their travel costs, they were told the money was not available. All the men’s teams, however, either had a bus organised for them or would be picked up by the club.
And up until 2017, women were still wearing men’s kit for both playing and training.
“When I arrived, we did our laundry at home. They gave us two or three sets, I don’t remember exactly how many, and we washed them at home,” Unzue said.
“They would give us the smallest sizes but even that was too big for us.”
Getting to away games was another ordeal, Unzue explained: “We travelled almost always by bus, except for the longer trips, like Barcelona-Seville, where we flew.
“But from Barcelona to the Basque Country, by bus; to Madrid, by bus; to Valencia, by bus… it was a long bus ride, you arrived super tired, you had to play the game at 12 noon, return late, and on top of that, people were still working.
“There were a lot of people who arrived late at night and had to go to work the next day.”
The club’s much vaunted academy, La Masia, was also out-of-bounds for the women until very recently – women have only been admitted into the La Masia residency since 2021.
Things have improved considerably but there is still a massive divide. Bonmati is not just the greatest woman player on the planet, she is also, deservedly, the highest paid. Her earnings last year were €1m (£840,000). Her team-mate Putellas was the second-highest earner on €700,000 (£590,000). Barca’s star striker for the men’s side, Robert Lewandowski, is paid €30m (£25.3m).
