It's incredible to think that, four years ago, Aitana Bonmati was the subject of one of the most shocking snubs in Ballon d'Or history. After playing a starring role in Barcelona's first Women's Champions League triumph, the midfielder looked sure to be in the mix for the Golden Ball - and yet, she didn't even make the 20-player shortlist. Did she take it personally? Knowing her focus on team over individual, perhaps not, but she's certainly made herself impossible to ignore in the interim, with Bonmati claiming a third successive Ballon d'Or on Monday.It's an achievement that puts Bonmati in an exclusive club, alongside only Lionel Messi and Michel Platini, and that is a feat that highlights just how rare it is to be recognised as the most outstanding player in the world so consistently. Granted, individual accolades in women's football don't have the same extensive history as those on the men's side, with the Ballon d'Or Feminin only introduced in 2018. However, a look at the honour roll of the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award, first handed out in 2001, offers a further glimpse into the elite company Bonmati now sits with. Only Marta, widely considered the greatest women's player of all-time, and Birgit Prinz, not far behind the Brazilian in that conversation, achieved a three-peat. Despite still only being 27 years old, Bonmati's name now deserves to be mentioned in the same conversation as the all-time greats. On its own, Monday's Ballon d'Or triumph cemented her status as the best player in the world right now. As a third Golden Ball in succession, meanwhile, it underlined the fact that Bonmati is already in legendary territory - with so much more of her career still to come.