Comments on https://lichess.org/@/zig_zag_zug_zwang/blog/ive-played-the-catalan-1500-times-heres-3-lessons-i-learned/KALjE7tm
Carlsen concurs: he chose the Catalan in his last World Championship Match.
The Catalan is still heavily played in ICCF correspondence, e.g.
https://www.iccf.com/game?id=1513681