Mariona Caldentey

María Francesca Caldentey Oliver (born 19 March 1996), known as Mariona Caldentey or simply Mariona, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Arsenal and the Spain national team.

Early life
María Francesca Caldentey Oliver was born in the Mallorcan town of Felanitx to Miguel Ángel Caldentey and María Oliver. Her father was a football coach and her mother is a nurse by profession. She also has an older brother.

Caldentey began playing football at the age of four in her local team as an after-school activity. She later played futsal in Manacor, where she won multiple titles and played in three Spanish championships. Although Caldentey did not develop in La Masia, she has had a lifelong connection to FC Barcelona; her father was one of the promoters of Els Tamarells, one of Barcelona’s biggest penyes.

Collerense
Caldentey began her football career in the youth of CD Felanitx and CD CIDE before she was able to play in an all-women's team for the first time at the age of 14 at UD Collerense. Caldentey developed through the ranks of the UD Collerense youth system.

Barcelona
On 30 July 2014, Caldentey signed for Barcelona after her successes in the U19 European Championship. Throughout the 2014–2015 season, she made her Copa de la Reina debut in the quarterfinals of the 2015 tournament and scored in a 4–0 win versus Levante. Barcelona would exit the tournament in the next round against Valencia.

She suffered various injuries in her time at Barcelona, missing out on chunks of some seasons and not always being able to show her best level. Playing as an inside forward, Caldentey was key to this area of the team's formation and contributed to all aspects of the attack.

Towards the end of what Sport called her best season for Barcelona, and one in which they won everything, Caldentey announced on 5 June 2024 that she would be leaving the club at the end of the season. Having spent ten years at the club, she was among the top players for total appearances (303); goals (115, the fifth highest in club history); and trophies (25 trophies, the fourth most).

Arsenal
On 2 July 2024, Arsenal announced the signing of Caldentey on a free transfer.

Youth
Caldentey earned third place at the 2013 U17 European Championship, representing Spain. In the semifinals of the tournament, she converted her penalty in the shootout against Sweden, but would end up losing the match after the shootout ended 4–5 in Sweden's favor. In the third place match, Caldentey captained the team and scored in the 42nd minute in an 0–4 rout of Belgium.

She found more success during the 2014 U19 European Championship. Caldentey started every game in the tournament, along with scoring the first goal in the semifinal match versus Norway. She started in the final, where Spain lost against the Netherlands via a Vivianne Miedema chip in the 21st minute.

Caldentey also participated in the 2016 U20 World Cup, where she scored twice in the group stage against Canada and Japan. Spain were eliminated in extra time of the quarterfinal against eventual champions North Korea. Her goal against Canada was named goal of the tournament.

Senior
In 2017, Caldentey earned her first senior national team call-up when Jorge Vilda named her to Spain's squad for two friendlies against Switzerland. Two months later, she made her international debut in an Algarve Cup match versus Japan, subbing on in the 73rd minute for Amanda Sampedro. Spain went on to the final against Canada and won the tournament, earning Caldentey her first international title.

Caldentey scored her first senior international goal in a friendly match against Belgium.

She was called up to the squad for the Euro 2017. Caldentey started in two group stages games- a win against Portugal and a loss against Scotland. After Spain qualified for the knockout rounds on their head-to-head record, she started the quarterfinal match against Austria but was subbed out in the 56th minute. Spain exited the tournament after a penalty shootout.

In 2019, Caldentey was called up to represent Spain in the 2019 Algarve Cup, where Spain finished 7th place. She was also named to the Spain squad for the 2019 World Cup. She started each match in the group stage of the tournament, where Spain received four points and moved on to the Round of 16 for the first time in their history. In the Round of 16 match, she subbed in at the 83rd minute for Virginia Torrecilla, and Spain would end up losing to eventual champions, the United States.

She was among Las 15, a group of players who made themselves unavailable for international selection in September 2022 due to their dissatisfaction with head coach Jorge Vilda, but one of three who was selected for the tournament squad nine months later. She was in the starting line-up for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup final as Spain defeated England 1–0 to win the trophy for the first time.

International

 * Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Caldentey goal.

Honours
Barcelona
 * Primera División: 2014–15, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
 * UEFA Women's Champions League: 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24
 * Copa de la Reina de Fútbol: 2017, 2018, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2023–24
 * Supercopa Femenina: 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
 * Copa Catalunya: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

Spain
 * FIFA Women's World Cup: 2023
 * UEFA Women's Nations League: 2023–24
 * UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship: runner-up 2014
 * Algarve Cup: 2017

Individual
 * IFFHS Women's UEFA Team: 2023