Alèxia Putellas i Segura ( , Alexia Putellas Segura; born 4 February 1994), often known mononymously as Alexia, is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

from

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

or forward for

Liga F The Primera División de la Liga de Fútbol Femenino, currently known as the Liga F (finetwork Liga F for sponsorship reasons), is the highest level of Sports league, league competition for women's football in Spain. It is the women's equivalent ...

club

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, which she captains, and the Spain women's national team. She previously played for Espanyol and Levante, and has represented

. Having won all major club and individual awards available to a European player by 2022, she is widely regarded as one of the greatest female footballers of all time. Putellas started her youth career at CE Sabadell, passing through Barcelona before she moved to Espanyol, where she played most of her youth football. After a year at Levante she returned to Barcelona in 2012, where she has won eight league titles, eight Copas de la Reina and three

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. ...

trophies. In Barcelona's 2020–21 season, she played an essential role as her team won the Champions League as well as the resulting continental treble, both for the first time in their history. Putellas then went on to win the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award, the Ballon d'Or Féminin, and

The Best FIFA Women's Player The Best FIFA Women's Player is a football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. From 2001 to 2015, the award was known ...

in 2021, becoming the first player to win all three in the same year. In 2022, despite missing the

UEFA Women's Euro 2022 The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champio ...

due to an ACL injury, she won all three awards again, becoming the first woman to win any of them in consecutive years. Barcelona won the league and Champions League again in 2022–23, though Putellas was largely absent with the injury, before taking the continental quadruple in 2023–24. On the international stage, Putellas had success with Spain's youth national teams, winning two UEFA Women's U-17 Euros (in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

) as well as finishing third in the

2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup women's football tournament was the second such tournament, and was held in Trinidad and Tobago from 5 to 25 September 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in ...

and second in the 2012 UEFA Women's U-19 Euro. She made her debut for Spain's senior national team for the 2013 UEFA Women's Euro, and has since featured in four other major international competitions with the team: Spain's

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

debut in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, the 2017 Euro, the 2019 World Cup and the 2023 World Cup that Spain won. She captained Spain during the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League, which they also won. As of October 2023, Putellas has the second-most all-time appearances for Barcelona behind former left-back Melanie Serrano, and is their all-time top goalscorer. She is the record holder for most Spain appearances, having surpassed

Marta Torrejón Marta Torrejón Moya (; born 27 February 1990) is a Spanish association football, footballer who plays as a defender (association football), defender for FC Barcelona (women), FC Barcelona and the Catalonia women's national football team, Catal ...

's previous record of 90 caps in 2021, and became the first player to make over 100 appearances for the Spain women's team, which she achieved in 2022.

Early life and education

Alèxia Putellas i Segura was born on 4 February 1994, to Jaume Putellas Rota and Elisabet "Eli" Segura Sabaté in

Mollet del Vallès Mollet del Vallès () is a municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Vallès Oriental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Besòs (river), Besòs river, and is an important commun ...

, a municipality in the

province of Barcelona Barcelona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is . She has a younger sister, Alba. Putellas has been a supporter of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

since her early childhood and would travel with the '' penya'' of Mollet del Vallès to watch matches at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

with her father. She would also watch Barcelona matches at a local bar, La Bolera, with her family; she has said that her family have always been fanatic supporters of the club, with the exception of a cousin who supports

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. As of 2021, Putellas was still a member of the Mollet ''penya''. In her youth, Putellas idolised male footballers

Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Luján (; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and spent most of his career at La Liga club Barcelona. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was known ...

Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (; born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo, is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as ...

, and

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

, who all played for Barcelona, as well as female footballer Louisa Nécib, who played for

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...

. Iniesta has returned the idolatry, calling Putellas a role model and saying she encapsulates the values of FC Barcelona. Born into a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

-playing family, Putellas took part in basketball as well as

roller hockey Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using wheeled skates. It can be played with traditional roller skates (quad skates) or with inline skates and use either a ball or puck. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 cou ...

, tennis, and , as a child. She began playing football at school, and attended football camps run by

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

for two summers, before joining a club in 2001 at seven years old. Her mother allowed her to join a football team on the condition she stop playing at school, though she continued. Putellas interpreted her mother's request as a reflection of

machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1940s and 1950s and its use more wi ...

, specifically prejudice towards girls playing football, in society, saying that her family themselves always accepted her ambitions. A mature and reserved but not shy child, Putellas showed leadership qualities from a young age. She enjoyed football at school, where she was embraced, but still did not think she could have a football career due to being female. Putellas' first club was the local CF Mollet UE boys' team; she only had three training sessions there, leaving as she did not like the atmosphere and soon after joining the

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, where it is one of the two capitals, the other being Terrassa. It is located on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona, a ...

girls' team. In 2013, Putellas began studying Business Administration and Management at the

Pompeu Fabra University Pompeu Fabra University (, ; ) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. Established in 1990 by the Autonomous Government of Catalonia and named after Pompeu Fabra, it is known for its competitiveness in resea ...

in Barcelona, later taking a break from her studies to focus on football. She had decided to study for a degree due to a lack of professionalism in Spanish women's football; Barcelona Femení became professional in 2015.

Club career

Youth career

Sabadell, 2001–05

When she was seven, Putellas began playing for Sabadell, being enrolled through a family friend who played for the club; the team would not accept players younger than eight, with Putellas' family initially lying about her age so she could join. It is here she first played with future Barcelona teammates Vicky Losada and

Marta Corredera Marta Corredera Rueda (born 8 August 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger or right wing-back. She is currently a free agent. Rueda formerly represented FC Barcelona, Arsenal Ladies of the English FA WSL, At ...

. Despite being several years younger than some of her Sabadell teammates, Putellas was made one of the team captains. She was smaller and weaker than other players, and could not shoot from distance, things which frustrated her. Sports media wrote that Putellas found success at this age due to her ability to find "space where there is none" even as a child. Sabadell was the only nearby club that had a women's section but, though the women's team flourished during the period Putellas was with them and the staff of the girls' team pushed to develop, the girls' team was not a priority. It was difficult for Putellas and her family to manage her training there as a child, but by 2004 she was playing football religiously.

Barcelona, 2005–06

In 2005, Putellas spent a year in a Barcelona girls' youth team as part of

La Masia La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia (; ), is FC Barcelona's youth academy. It includes more than 300 young players and has been an instrumental factor in Barcelona's European success, producing several world class players and ...

. With the team, Putellas won the youth editions of the 2005

Copa Catalunya The Copa Catalunya () is a knockout competition organised by the Catalan Football Federation for football clubs in the Catalonia autonomous community of Spain. History Between 1903 and 1940, it was known as the ''Catalan football championship ...

and the league. Joining Barcelona was her dream, but she had to leave when the women's system was restructured and there was no team for her age group; Xavi Llorens, who became manager in 2006, reflected that he always expected Putellas to return, "it was just a matter of waiting for the right time". Putellas, like many of the displaced players, joined Espanyol, the other club in Barcelona.

Espanyol, 2006–11

Putellas joined the Espanyol girls' team when she was twelve, at a time when Espanyol was one of the dominant forces in Spanish women's football, "with an incredibly prolific academy", and Barcelona was not. Through the youth and senior teams she played alongside

and Andrea Pereira, who would both also later move to Barcelona. In 2007, the Espanyol Cadet team won the youth Copa Catalunya, also taking the league title in 2008 at the end of the season. Putellas then began appearing for the women's Espanyol B team from the age of 14 in 2008, and trained and played with the first team during pre-season in 2009. She made her first team debut with Espanyol in 2010 when she was 16 years old. She was part of the squad that won the 2010 Copa de la Reina, with Espanyol defeating

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

3–1 in the final. Putellas played in the 2011 Copa de la Reina for Espanyol, starting in the final that they lost 0–1 in

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

to Barcelona. Putellas' performances with Espanyol identified her as one of Spain's best young players.

Levante, 2011–12

Already a star in the fledgling women's football world in Spain after her success with the youth national team, Putellas attracted attention when she moved to Valencian club Levante at the age of seventeen, only a month after the 2011 Copa de la Reina final. Levante did not compete in the 2012 Copa de la Reina due to failing to qualify in the previous season, but had numerous Spain football veterans and a professional environment, unusual at the time, which is said to have contributed to Putellas' individual growth. She had a personally successful 2011–12 campaign, scoring 15 goals in 34 matches (playing all matches in the season) and finishing as Levante's top scorer. At Levante, she was coached in how to play off the ball, developing technical and tactical skills like a midfielder, and to become capable with both feet after the coach, Antonio Contreras, felt she was too reliant on her left. He also said she was already a very classy and intelligent player when she joined.

Barcelona

2012–13

Llorens and Barcelona had continued to follow Putellas' career after she left, and in the summer of 2012, following her breakthrough year with Levante and the death of her father, approached her to rejoin the club. Barcelona had also risen to dominance in the prior season, and brought in Putellas as their star signing to head a long-term project aiming for Barcelona to be able to challenge for the Champions League title after "five or six" seasons. Putellas accepted the offer, signing for the club as a forward on 10 July 2012 – in her early years with Barcelona, she often played as a false winger – and started and played most of their matches that season. Because of Barcelona's first-ever league title win in the previous season, they made their debut in the 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League; after signing for Barcelona, Putellas said it was a dream to be able to play in the Champions League. On 26 September 2012, she started in her

debut against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, which they lost 0–3 at home despite starting strong. In the away leg, Barcelona lost 0–4, and exited their tournament debut in the

Round of 32 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

. On 5 May 2013, Putellas won her first league title with Barcelona when they defeated

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

2–1 at the San Mamés to a crowd of over 25,000. In 2021, Putellas said this was one of her favourite matches because it "made her feel like a footballer". In the 2013 final of the Copa de la Reina she scored Barcelona's third goal against Prainsa Zaragoza by dribbling past two Zaragoza defenders, past their keeper, and poking the ball into the net. The goal went viral and attracted more attention for Putellas from Spanish and international media. Barcelona won 4–0, the first domestic

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

in their history. Putellas was chosen as MVP of the Copa de la Reina final for her performance.

2013–14

In March 2014, Barcelona became the first Spanish team to reach the quarterfinals of the Women's Champions League; Putellas, acknowledging that their tie against defending champions

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

would be hard, said that Barcelona dreamed of being able to surprise them but would be "keeping

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

feet on the ground" ahead of the games; she later said that reaching a Champions League final was "a medium-to-long-term project" for the team. They lost 0–5 on aggregate, with Wolfsburg going on to win the title. On 13 April, Barcelona became league champions after the team went unbeaten for 27 games, with Putellas winning her second consecutive league title with the club. She was recognised for her incredible technical skill, particularly going one-on-one, and for being a slower player who instead used changes of pace to "destroy her opponents." By 2014 Putellas was "widely recognised as the future of both FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team," and an integral part of Barcelona's 2014 Copa de la Reina campaign, scoring in each round of the knockout stage: her goal in the away leg of the quarter-finals against

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

saw Barcelona through with an aggregate 1–0. She was one of Barcelona's three goals for a 3–1 aggregate victory in the semi-finals, before her goals were again crucial in the final against Athletic Bilbao: her shot from outside the box in extra time took the tie to penalties, in which she scored the game-winning fifth penalty, earning her fifth major trophy with Barcelona. She was named MVP of the Copa de la Reina for the second season in a row.

2014–15

Putellas scored her first ever Champions League goal in the

of the

2014–15 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2014–15 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 14th edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA. The final was played on 14 May 2015 at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, Berlin, Germany. Unlike recent ...

against Czech side

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

; Barcelona advanced after defeating Slavia Prague 4–0 on aggregate. In the

Round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

they lost 1–2 on aggregate to Bristol Academy. Putellas won her third league title with the club when Barcelona were crowned champions in April 2015, before scoring the opening goal in their '' derbi femení'' victory. Later in May, she was included on the of Spain's best young players for the sixth consecutive season, being listed as a midfielder (rather than an attacking winger) for the first time; she was also named the Fútbol Draft best left central midfielder.

2015–16

Barcelona became a fully professional team at the start of the season, with Putellas saying in early 2016 that the club had fully embraced the women's team moving to the Ciutat Esportiva, though she still felt lucky to be able to make a living from her sport. Putellas missed Barcelona's first UEFA Women's Champions League match of the 2015–16 season against BIIK Kazygurt, returning in the second leg to provide an assist for Jennifer Hermoso in a 4–0 win. She scored the first four-goal game of her career in 2015, having never scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

before, in a 10–0 win against Fundación Albacete in the league. Ahead of the quarter-finals of the Champions League, which Barcelona closely lost on aggregate to

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

, Putellas looked to the match as an opportunity to develop; she said that her perspective had changed, that when she first joined Barcelona she felt just playing in the Champions League was a prize to enjoy, but she wanted to be able to "reach a final in three or four years" and knew they had to be challenging teams like PSG. In the quarter-finals of the 2016 Copa de la Reina, Putellas scored a brace and provided an assist for Míriam Diéguez in a 5–1 win against Real Sociedad. She finished her season as Barcelona's second-highest goalscorer in the league with 18 goals.

2016–17

In February 2017, Putellas was named as a candidate for the FIFPro Women's World XI for the first time, being listed as a forward. In the 2016–2017 season, Barcelona reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in the club's history. Putellas started both legs as they were knocked out 5–1 on aggregate by PSG. On 18 June 2017, Putellas won her third Copa de la Reina with Barcelona, scoring in the final to help them to a 4–1 win over

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

2017–18

On 2 October 2017, Putellas wore the captain's band for the first time at Barcelona in a match against Santa Teresa, after all four of the club's captains were either benched or not selected in that matchday squad. Putellas was Barcelona's sole scorer in both legs of the 2018 Copa de la Reina quarter-final, scoring both match-winners against Levante to bring Barcelona to the semi-finals. After advancing past Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals, Barcelona made it to the final where they won 1–0 over Atlético Madrid late in extra time.

2018–19

In the 2018–2019 season, Putellas was named as Barcelona's fourth captain, the first official captaincy role of her senior career. In the first match of that season's Champions League, Putellas conceded an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

as Barcelona fell in a 3–1 shock defeat to BIIK Kazygurt. They came back from that loss to win 3–0 at home, and ended up advancing to the semi-finals for the second time in club history. In October, Putellas scored four goals (of Barcelona's nine) in a league game against Rayo Vallecano, as well as drawing a penalty for her team, leading ''AS'' to say she was already a reference in Spanish women's football. Putellas started both games against

Bayern Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total land area of Germany, and with over 13.08 million ...

, where Barcelona won 2–0 on aggregate. On 18 May 2019, Putellas started in Barcelona's first ever UWCL final against

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, who went on to win the match 4–1. Following Barcelona's loss in the final, Putellas was named to the UEFA Women's Champions League Squad of the Season for the first time in her career. Not soon after, she renewed her contract with the club for 3 more seasons to 2022. She ended the season as Barcelona's top scorer in the league with 16 goals and overall with 18 goals.

2019–20

In 2019, Putellas was given second captaincy for the first time at Barcelona after being named as fourth captain in the previous year. For the first few months of the 2019–20 season, she captained the side during Vicky Losada's hamstring injury, but began to start as captain in most matches by default as Losada transitioned to an off-the-bench role. On 7 September 2019, she became the first player to ever score at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in a 9–1 win against Tacón, the team that would later become

. Some days later, Putellas scored Barcelona's first goal of the 2019–20 Champions League campaign, away against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. In the home leg, she scored the first ever Champions League goal at the Estadi Johan Cruyff. In February of the following year, she started and captained both legs of the first ever Supercopa de España Femenina. In the final, she scored a brace in a 10–1 thrashing of Real Sociedad, winning her first major title with the club in two years. Later in the month, she made her 300th appearance for Barcelona against Sporting Huelva, the fourth player in Barcelona's history to reach that many appearances after Melanie Serrano, Marta Unzué, and Vicky Losada. She was honored at Estadi Johan Cruyff for the milestone in March. Following the beginning of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Europe The global COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Europe with its first confirmed case in Bordeaux, France, on 24 January 2020, and subsequently spread widely across the continent. By 17 March 2020, every country in Europe had confirmed a case, and al ...

, the 2019–20 league season was suspended, with Barcelona being crowned the winner with 21 out of 32 matchdays played. It was Putellas' first league title since 2015, and her fourth with the club overall. She ended up contributing 10 goals and 8 assists in 20 league matches. At the end of the season, Putellas was named the best player of the 2019–20 league campaign. Upon the resumption of the 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League, Barcelona played Atlético Madrid in the single-legged quarter-final, where they won 1–0. Barcelona advanced to the

semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

of the competition, where they were knocked out 1–0 by

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

. In a post-match interview, when asked about the gap in quality between Barcelona and other elite European teams, Putellas claimed "there is no distance." On the continental stage, Putellas was named as a candidate for the

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

Women's Team of the Year for 2020. Although the 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League was completed, Barcelona were still due to complete the remaining matches of that season's Copa de la Reina campaign. Owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the semi-finals and final of the 2019–20 Copa de la Reina were pushed back to be played during the 2020–21 season. On 13 February 2021, Putellas played the 2020 Copa de la Reina final against

Logroño Logroño ( , , ) is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja (Spain), La Rioja, Spain. Located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, primarily in the right (South) bank of the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of pa ...

, and drew a penalty which she scored to put Barcelona 1–0 up. Barcelona won the final 3–0, Putellas' fifth Copa de la Reina title with the club.

2020–21

As first captain Vicky Losada continued to be utilized mainly as a substitute at Barcelona, Putellas started matches as captain throughout most of the 2020–21 season. In the first match of the league season, Putellas started the first ever Women's ''Clásico'' against Real Madrid, where she scored the fourth and final goal of the match. On 6 January 2021, Putellas captained Barcelona against Espanyol, the first time women's teams ever played a competitive match at the Camp Nou. Just before halftime, Putellas scored a header goal off a

corner kick A corner kick, commonly known as a corner, is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defe ...

from

Caroline Graham Hansen Caroline Graham Hansen (; born 18 February 1995) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for Spanish Liga F club FC Barcelona Femení, FC Barcelona and the Norway women's national football team, Norway w ...

, becoming the first female player to score a competitive goal at the stadium. The following week, she played against Atlético Madrid in the semi-final of the 2021 Supercopa de España Femenina, where she scored a free-kick in the 90th minute to tie the match and take it to extra time. Barcelona lost the match on penalties, one of their three losses that season in all competitions. In the second edition of the women's ''El Clásico'', Putellas scored Barcelona's first ever home goal against ''Los Blancos''. That goal was also her 100th goal scored in the league with Barcelona. In the 2020–21 Champions League, Barcelona advanced to their second ever final. A day prior to the Champions League final, Putellas trained separately from the group with her left thigh heavily bandaged due to strain on her hamstring, and was at risk of not starting the final with the status of "doubtful." Putellas said that when the pain continued in training, she focused on her mentality instead, making herself believe she was not injured so that she could play on top form. On 16 May 2021, despite her injury, Putellas started the second Champions League final of her career, this time against Chelsea. After going 1–0 up within 30 seconds, Barcelona were awarded a penalty after Melanie Leupolz made contact with Hermoso in the box. Putellas scored the penalty to put Barcelona 2–0 up within 13 minutes. In the 20th minute of the match, Putellas sent a through ball into the box towards

Aitana Bonmatí Aitana Bonmatí i Conca (; born 18 January 1998) is a Catalan professional association football, footballer from Spain who plays as a midfielder for Liga F club FC Barcelona Femení, Barcelona and the Spain women's national football team, Spa ...

, who scored Barcelona's third. The goal was later selected as the fifth-best goal of the competition. Barcelona ended the match winning 4–0, the largest margin of victory in any single-legged UWCL final, and Putellas was selected to that year's UWCL Squad of the Season. Later in the year, she was listed as a nominee to the UEFA Women's Champions League Midfielder of the Season award, which she won in August. Later in the month of May, she competed in the final stages of the 2020–21 Copa de la Reina. Putellas was sidelined for the two league matches between the Champions League Final and the semi-final of the Copa de la Reina due to her previous injury, but started the semi-final against Madrid CFF where she scored two goals in a 4–0 win. Her two goals made her the first player in Barcelona's history to exceed 10 goals in the Copa de la Reina. In the final, played on 30 May 2021, Putellas scored two goals against Levante – a header from a Lieke Martens corner service and another coming from a shot from open play into the far right corner. The match ended with a 4–2 victory to Barcelona as they completed the continental treble, a first for a Spanish women's club team. Putellas also won MVP of the Copa de la Reina final for the third time in her career, and scored the most goals in the tournament with five. The cup was her sixth Copa de la Reina with Barcelona and her seventh overall. Putellas ended her season as the highest-scoring midfielder in Europe with 26 goals in all competitions.

2021–22

Following the departure of captain Vicky Losada, Putellas overtook first-captain duties at the beginning of the 2021–22 season. In August 2021, she was nominated as a UEFA Women's Player of the Year finalist alongside Barcelona teammates Lieke Martens and Jennifer Hermoso. Putellas was given the award later in the month, becoming the first Spanish woman to win it. In September 2021, Putellas renewed her Barcelona contract for three more years until 2024. On 25 September, she scored one of the fastest-ever hat-tricks in her club's, and Spanish women's football, history after she netted three goals in four minutes in her side's 8–0 defeat of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, one of which was scored from 40 yards. In the month of October, Putellas kicked off Barcelona's

2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 21st edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA, and the 13th edition since being rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League. It was the first edition to fe ...

campaign by scoring their second goal in a 4–1 group stage win against Arsenal. That same month, she was listed as a nominee for the

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Ballon d'Or Féminin, the first Ballon d'Or nomination of her career. In November, Putellas scored 3 goals in two Champions League group stage matches against Hoffenheim. She finished the 2021–22 UWCL group stage with 5 goals. On 29 November 2021, Putellas was awarded the 2021 Ballon d'Or Féminin. She became the first Spanish woman to win any World Player of the Year/Ballon d'Or award, and was the first Spaniard since

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...

in 1960 to win a Ballon d'Or. She dedicated the award to her father and thanked her teammates. In January of the following year, Putellas was named as the winner of FIFA's The Best Women's Player Award, the second FC Barcelona Femení player to win the award after Lieke Martens in 2017. Days later, Putellas scored a 91st-minute winner in a 1–0 match against Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the 2021–22 Supercopa Femenina. She later started and played 65 minutes of the Supercopa Femenina final, which ended 7–0 in Barcelona's favor against Atlético Madrid. Putellas began Barcelona's 2021–22 Copa de la Reina campaign by scoring a goal in a 3–1 win against Rayo Vallecano in the

of the tournament. In the quarter-final of the tournament, played on 16 March 2022, Putellas scored 2 goals in a 3–0 win against Real Sociedad to advance Barcelona to the semi-finals. Later that month, Putellas competed in Barcelona's UWCL quarter-final matches against domestic rivals Real Madrid. In the first leg, she scored 2 goals to help Barcelona to a narrow 3–1 away win. In the following home leg, Putellas started and scored Barcelona's 4th goal in a 5–2 win over Real Madrid at the Camp Nou. The match broke the record for attendance at a women's football match with 91,553 fans in attendance. In April 2022, Putellas started and scored two goals in a 5–1 UWCL semi-final win over VfL Wolfsburg. The match, again hosted at the Camp Nou, broke the women's football world attendance record once more with 91,648 people in attendance. On 21 May 2022, Putellas started Barcelona's second-consecutive UEFA Women's Champions League final against Olympique Lyon. She played all 90 minutes and scored Barcelona's only goal in a 1–3 loss. At the conclusion of the tournament, she was named the 2021–22 UWCL Player of the Season, included in the 2021–22 UWCL Team of the Season, and was recognized as the 2021–22 UWCL Top Scorer, scoring 11 goals throughout the competition. She also had the most direct goal involvements of any player in the competition with a combined 13 goals and assists. Putellas returned to domestic competition on 25 May 2022 in Barcelona's

Copa de la Reina clash against Real Madrid. She assisted Lieke Martens' opening goal in a match that ended as a 4–0 win. In Barcelona's final match of the season, the Copa de la Reina final against Sporting Huelva, Putellas played the entire match of a 6–1 win and scored Barcelona's sixth and final goal. Putellas finished as the joint-top scorer of the 2021–22 Copa de la Reina, tied with Anita Marcos and Alicia Martínez with 4 goals. By the end of the season, Putellas' teammates agreed that "Barcelona is Alexia and Alexia is Barcelona". She finished her league season with 18 goals and a league-best 15 assists as Barcelona had a perfect, wins-only season. Her 2021–22 season was also the first time in her career that she had scored over 30 goals in a single season, and the first season since 2018–19 that she was Barcelona's top scorer in all competitions. Like last season, Putellas finished as Europe's highest-scoring midfielder with 34 goals in all competitions.

2022–23

On 5 July 2022, Putellas suffered an ACL injury while training with the Spain national team before the 2022 UEFA Women's Euro. Her recovery period post-surgery was estimated to be between 10 and 12 months, meaning she would miss most (and possibly all) of the 2022–23 Primera División and

2022–23 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2022–23 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 22nd edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA, and the 14th edition since being rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League. It was the second edition to f ...

. Throughout the season, she instead picked up awards for the previous year: by the end of February 2023 she had retained all three of her UEFA Women's Player of the Year, Ballon d'Or Féminin and FIFA The Best Women's Player awards, creating a new record for consecutive wins. At the start of February 2023, Putellas had begun more intensive training with Barcelona again, and at the end of March 2023 she was back in group training with the team. She returned to the matchday squad on 27 April 2023, for the second leg of the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final against Chelsea, and made her first appearance on 30 April 2023, when she came on as a substitute in the 73rd minute in the league-winning victory against Sporting Huelva. She scored her first goal after returning from injury on 21 May, in Barcelona's final league game of the season; again a substitute, she scored a minute after coming on. It was the team's only goal in a 1–2 loss to Madrid CFF, their first league loss in nearly two years. In Barcelona's final match of the season, the 2023 UEFA Women's Champions League final against Wolfsburg in Eindhoven, Putellas entered the pitch in the 90th minute and played out the nine minutes of stoppage time in their 3–2 comeback victory.

2023–24

Putellas moved back to the forward line ahead of Barcelona's 2023–24 season, playing as a striker or

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, something that had been discussed between her and the coaching staff to make use of her goalscoring abilities; planning for her post-injury return during the previous season, head coach Jonatan Giráldez had thought to use Putellas in the more advanced role due to the successful midfield collaboration of Bonmatí, Patricia Guijarro and Keira Walsh. Putellas made her 400th official appearance for Barcelona during their first match of the season, the second player to achieve this milestone (following Serrano). With her goal in Barcelona's fourth match she drew level with Hermoso as the team's record goalscorer, before scoring the only goal in their next game, a victory over Atlético Madrid in October, to surpass Hermoso and become Barcelona's all-time leading goalscorer with 182 goals (in all official appearances; it was also her 131st league goal since 2013). She continued experiencing issues with her injury which, along with the team's new midfield, led ''The Equalizer'' to question where she fit at Barcelona in January 2024, and to describe her season as "a significant juncture in a glittering career"; ''El País'' said in March that during Putellas' mid-season absence, other forwards had become efficient goalscorers, and she may no longer fit there, either. The absence lasted four months. Having not played since November 2023, Putellas had another knee surgery in late December, followed by an intense rehabilitation plan; she was called up to play for Spain at the end of February 2024 without having been deemed match fit by Barcelona's medical staff, which reportedly soured negotiations for a new contract between Putellas and Barcelona. She returned to play for Barcelona on 10 March 2024, scoring within 15 minutes of being substituted on, also returning to her typical midfield role. With the goal, Putellas' 185th for the club, she overtook

Josep Samitier Josep Samitier Vilalta (; 2 February 1902 – 4 May 1972), also known as José Samitier, was a Spanish football player, manager and scout who played as a midfielder for FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, OGC Nice, the Catalan XI, and Spain. He later ...

to enter the top five of all-time goalscorers for Barcelona, men and women. Barcelona suffered a surprising home loss at the hands of Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals on 20 April; ''

Mundo Deportivo ''Mundo Deportivo'' (; ) is a Spanish nationwide daily sports newspaper published in Barcelona. History and profile ''Mundo Deportivo'' was first published on 1 February 1906, as a weekly newspaper, and since 1929 daily. It is the oldest sports ...

'' felt that once Putellas came on she brought more fluidity and was one of the team's more impressive players in breaking down Chelsea's defense. She missed a potential equaliser in the 100th minute, before Barcelona defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge a week later to progress to the Champions League final. Putellas had entered the pitch in the 92nd minute (during

stoppage time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the ga ...

) of the semi-final second leg, and did so again in the final. Barcelona was leading 1–0 over European rivals Lyon when Putellas came on; she recovered the ball from a Lyon attack within the Barcelona box, before scoring from well-built team play in the 95th minute to make it 2–0. She took her shirt off and ran to celebrate with the fans, bowing to them – Barcelona set a new record for the largest travelling contingent in women's football – and receiving a yellow card in one of the last actions of the match. In winning the match, Barcelona secured their third Champions League title and an historic continental quadruple for the season.

2024–25

At the start of the 2024–25 season, the team again experimented with Putellas' position in order to play all four midfielders; new head coach Pere Romeu had been a

pivot Pivot may refer to: *Pivot, the point of rotation in a lever system *More generally, the center point of any rotational system *Pivot joint, a kind of joint between bones in the body *Pivot turn, a dance move Companies *Incitec Pivot, an Austra ...

in his own career and particularly wanted to play both Guijarro and Walsh, moving Putellas into a false winger role within the midfield in early games. After the four-player formation proved unsuccessful in their first 2024–25 UEFA Women's Champions League match, Putellas returned to playing inside in the midfield most of the time. Following a good start to the season in goals and assists, Putellas was named 2024–25 Liga F player of the month for October 2024. In their match against Madrid CFF at the start of the month, Putellas scored her first goal from open play in the season to take her Barcelona career tally to 194 goals, equal with

László Kubala László Kubala (10 June 1927 – 17 May 2002) was a Hungarian professional association football, footballer. He played as a forward (association football), forward for Ferencvárosi TC, Ferencváros, ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Slovan Bratislava, F ...

as the fourth all-time top goalscorer for FC Barcelona. Come the end of November 2024, Putellas had reached 200 goals for Barcelona and overtaken Kubala and

on the all-time ranking list to stand as FC Barcelona's third-highest goalscorer.

International career

Catalonia

Putellas was involved in the autonomous Catalan youth teams from the age of ten. She played with the age group teams from under-12 to under-18, and with Catalonia was champion of Spain in the youth competitions. With the under-12 seven-a-side team, she took part in the Spanish Championship contested by teams from the

autonomous communities The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spa ...

in December 2007. In 2007 and 2008, Putellas was part of the Catalonia under-14 teams that won their Spanish Championship. In the second phase of the Championship for the under-15 team in 2009, Putellas scored Catalonia's only goal in their first game against Euskadi, and Catalonia's second goal in the second game; this team became the under-16 squad for their next matches, with Putellas part of the squad who took second place in 2009. She was also part of the team that won the under-16 Spanish Championship in 2010. Putellas again scored for the under-16 team in 2010, giving Catalonia the equaliser in their second phase match against the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

. In 2016, Putellas played with the Catalan senior national team in a friendly against Galicia. She said that whenever possible she would play for Catalonia, as she had good memories winning with the youth teams. The Catalan team often use the same international window as the Spain team, with Putellas unable to join Catalonia to play

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in 2019 due to being called up for Spain.

Spain

2009–13: Youth success

Putellas began playing for Spanish youth national teams at fifteen, in the under-17 team. She took part in the 2010 UEFA U-17 Women's Championship, her first major international championship with a Spanish national team. In the group stage, Putellas scored against Denmark; Spain finished on top of the group, with three wins from three matches, and went on to sweep all their remaining matches, winning the final against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

on penalties. The win at the 2010 UEFA U-17 Women's Championship gave Spain qualification for the

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is an annual (biennial until 2024) international women's association football tournament for female players under the age of 17. It is organized by ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA) ...

, played in the same year. Putellas scored in Spain's first match of the competition, as they won 4–1 against Japan women's national under-17 football team, Japan. Again finishing first in the group stages, Spain went on to face Brazil women's national under-17 football team, Brazil in the quarter-finals, where Putellas assisted both of Spain's goals in a 2–1 win. When Spain reached the semi-final against South Korea women's national under-17 football team, South Korea, Putellas assisted Amanda Sampedro's match-opening goal, but Spain eventually lost 2–1. They then won against North Korea women's national under-17 football team, North Korea in the third-place playoff match. Spain went on to replicate their under-17 Euro success 2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, in 2011. In the first match of the final round, Putellas scored twice against Iceland in a 4–0 win, sending Spain to the final. Spain, who had been favourites, won 1–0 against France women's national under-17 football team, France in the final, Putellas' second UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship win. The following year, Putellas moved into Spain women's national under-19 football team, Spain's under-19 team. She competed in the 2012 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, playing as an attacker and captaining the Spanish team: she said that rather than find captaining to weigh on her, she instead felt that it gave her a boost in tough moments. Though the tournament took place less than a month after Putellas' father died, she has said she had no hesitation deciding to go, adding that football was both her escape and her connection to him. She scored in Spain's second match of the group stage in a 4–0 win against England women's national under-19 football team, England. After finishing top of their group, Spain played in the semi-final against Portugal women's national under-19 football team, Portugal, where Putellas assisted Raquel Pinel's match-winning goal. Spain advanced to the final, where Putellas started and captained the match but was taken off in the 83rd minute as Spain were defeated by Sweden women's national under-19 football team, Sweden in the second period of extra time. The 2012 UEFA Women's U-19 Championship was Putellas' last tournament for Spain's youth national teams. In the 2013 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship second qualifying round, second round of qualifying for the 2013 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Spain were placed in 2013 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship second qualifying round#Group 6, group 6 with Germany women's national under-19 football team, Germany, the Czech Republic women's national under-19 football team, Czech Republic and Greece women's national under-19 football team, Greece. Despite the high-ranking opposition, Putellas had gone into the group confident, comparing her side's gameplay to that of the Spain national football team, Spain men's senior team and saying they would "defend the shirt to the death". She captained Spain in the group and scored twice in their three matches, but they finished third with one win and two losses, and failed to qualify. With Putellas and nearly two-thirds of the under-19 team aging out of the bracket in 2013 and 2014, and the group failing to qualify to contest any major tournament for those years, Marca (newspaper), ''Marca'' said it was the end of an era for what had been a dominant period for ''La Rojita'', Spain's youth women's teams.

2013–17: Senior debut and tournament disappointments

Putellas earned her first Cap (sports), cap for the Spain senior national team in a 2–2 pre-tournament friendly draw with Denmark women's national football team, Denmark in Vejle in June 2013. The following day, national team coach Ignacio Quereda confirmed her as a member of his 23-player squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013, 2013 European Championship finals in Sweden. She and friend Virginia Torrecilla were called up as part of Quereda's plan to add the "freshness" of youth players in with senior figures. Reflecting on the differences between men's and women's football in Spain shortly after being called up, Putellas said that stereotypes in society prevented the Spain women's team from seeing the same success as the men's, despite having the same technical quality. In Spain's first match of the 2013 Euro, Putellas made her competitive match debut when she was subbed on against England women's national football team, England. She scored the winner at the end of added time in Spain's 3–2 victory with a header, her first senior international goal. The win was Spain's first win at a Euro tournament in 16 years, their first win against England in 17 years, as well as their only win of that tournament. Putellas played in all of Spain's matches in the tournament: as a substitute again in the team's next match against France women's national football team, France, before starting in the group match against Russia women's national football team, Russia and as Spain were eliminated by Norway women's national football team, Norway in the quarter-final. In May 2015, Putellas was called up as part of Spain's squad at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, their first ever participation in a FIFA Women's World Cup, World Cup. Already a reference in Spanish women's football at the age of 20, she started every game in the tournament, where Spain put up an uninspiring display of two losses and a draw. Her and her 22 teammates in the squad called for the resignation of long-Academic tenure, tenured coach Ignacio Quereda, citing poor preparation for the tournament and lost confidence. Under Putellas' former coach with Spain's U-17s, Jorge Vilda, she was called up to Spain's UEFA Women's Euro 2017, 2017 UEFA Women's Euro squad. She started in each of Spain's group stage games at the UEFA Women's Euro 2017, where they advanced to the knockouts on a head-to-head tiebreaker with a record of one win and two losses. Spain was defeated by Austria women's national football team, Austria on penalties, where she was subbed in at the 68th minute.

2019–22: Leadership and injury

In May 2019, Putellas was named part of Spain's squad at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, both her and Spain's second Women's World Cup tournament. She played in each of Spain's three group stage games where they advanced to the Round of 16. Spain put up an impressive display against the United States women's national soccer team, United States, the eventual tournament winners. Putellas started that match, which ended up a 1–2 loss to the United States. Nine months after the World Cup, Spain competed in the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, against Japan women's national football team, Japan, England, and the United States. Putellas scored once against Japan and scored a late match-winner with a header against England. Her performances earned her player of the tournament and took Spain to second place. In April 2021, Putellas was named one of the three captains of the Spanish national team, with Irene Paredes and Jennifer Hermoso, and on 26 October 2021, Putellas surpassed Torrejón's record for Spain national team appearances, picking up her 91st Cap (sport)#Association football, cap in a 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying match against Ukraine women's national football team, Ukraine. On 2 November 2021, she was named the Spain women's national team Player of the Year. On 1 July 2022, she became the first player to reach List of women's footballers with 100 or more international caps, 100 caps with the national team, achieving this in a friendly match against Italy women's national football team, Italy. Days later she was included in Jorge Vilda's final list to represent Spain at the 2022 UEFA Women's Euro but, on 5 July, the day before the Euro began, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament, ACL tear in her left knee, leading her to miss the tournament. She attended Spain's debut match at the Euro, a 4–1 victory against Finland women's national football team, Finland, as a spectator in the stands before returning to Barcelona and having a knee operation on 12 July 2022.

2023–present: World Cup and Nations League victories, major disputes

In September 2022, Putellas gave her public support to fifteen of her Spain teammates, known as ''Disputes involving the Spain women's national football team#Las 15: 2022–23 player dispute, Las 15'', who refused to play for the national team until the Royal Spanish Football Federation, RFEF addressed their concerns about their poor mental and physical health in the squad. On 23 September, she and the fifteen players posted a joint statement that criticised the RFEF for their response to the situation. As the RFEF refused to acknowledge the protest, Putellas acted as a mediator between players and the federation; aiming to see the conflict resolved before the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, some improvements in condition were achieved. After recovering from her ACL injury, Putellas was recalled to the squad in June 2023. She scored on her return to the national team after almost a year, in a 7–0 friendly win against Panama women's national football team, Panama on 29 June; the next day she was called up to the squad for the 2023 World Cup. Having not started or played a full match in over a year, Putellas was not as involved in the World Cup campaign as Spain may have hoped, still not entirely match fit. She provided an assist in the group stage game against Zambia women's national football team, Zambia, but more in-form players instead led the squad during the tournament. Despite her lack of minutes ahead of the later stages, sports media felt that Spain would not be able to go the distance without Putellas' influence. In the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup final, World Cup final against England, Putellas came off the bench in the 90th minute to replace Mariona Caldentey. The match ended in a 1–0 victory for Spain to achieve their first ever major trophy. Turmoil in the squad returned immediately following the World Cup victory, due to the Rubiales affair, including the #SeAcabó movement started by Putellas; most eligible players refused to play for the team but were called up anyway for the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League in September 2023. Under legal threat if they did not attend, causing public outcry, Putellas was part of a meeting in Oliva that saw the RFEF agree to make significant structural changes promptly. Having been named Spain captain ahead of the 2022 Euro but unable to take the role due to her ACL injury, Putellas had been blacklisted from captaining Spain at the 2023 World Cup by Vilda due to her support for ''Las 15''; following the start of restructuring in the RFEF, including removal of Vilda, the team voted for Putellas to be captain again. With her position as the team's unifier, leader, and spokesperson, it was reported that some people in power at the RFEF were unhappy with the influence Putellas holds over football in Spain and that they want to try to remove her. While Putellas was an impactful player during the Nations League in September and October 2023, another injury absence saw her miss some group matches later that year, and hand the captaincy to Irene Paredes, before returning in February 2024 for the 2024 UEFA Women's Nations League Finals. Coach Montserrat Tomé considered Putellas as Spain's captain and too important to miss the games, though Paredes retained the captaincy and Putellas did not play in either of their matches as a promise to FC Barcelona. With Putellas said to be a great leader in the locker room, Spain won 2024 UEFA Women's Nations League final, the final and thus qualification for the Football at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament, 2024 Summer Olympics women's football tournament. In the summer of 2024, Spain played both UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying League A, qualifying matches for the 2025 UEFA Women's Euro and the 2024 Olympics football tournament.

Style of play

Having been a left-sided forward winger (association football), winger with Playmaker, playmaking ability in her youth career, the predominantly Footedness, left-footed Putellas is best known as a left-sided 'number 8' Midfielder#Central midfielder, central or Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for both Barcelona and Spain. For Spain, she has also been played as a lone 'number 10'. She has been described as the perfect "Playmaker#Spanish football, Barcelona midfielder", with the vision, passing ability, and passing accuracy that resembles her male counterparts of Barcelona's FC Barcelona#2008–2012: Guardiola era, successful Guardiola era; her technique has been compared to that of male Barcelona footballers

, Sergio Busquets, and particularly Andrés Iniesta, all of whom she has said inspire her game, as well as Real Madrid's Luka Modrić. Goal (website), ''GOAL'' has described her as "technically superb", creative, and decisive. Alongside her technical ability, she is hailed for her leadership capabilities and overall fitness. Normally situated in the central midfield of the set-up, Putellas is one of the main contributors to Barcelona's attack, with the ability to play as an attacking midfielder and a Forward (association football)#Inside forward, second striker. Putellas regularly finishes each season as one of Barcelona's top contributors in terms of both goals and assists. In the 2018–19 season she was the club's highest scorer in all competitions, and in the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons, she was Europe's highest-scoring midfielder. Her statistics around attacking play reflect those of a centre forward, and she is most typically positioned in the opposition half as the furthest-forward midfielder, occupying a "half-space" between the opposition's back lines, and between their full-back and centre-back; her ability to receive with either foot helps her to keep the ball in this tight space, opening up attacking routes forward. In attack, she is often the player to receive the ball from deep as the final stage of build-up play, quickly pressing or passing forward. When the attack is less advanced, Putellas is able to move further back and become a passing option for her backlines when they are looking for options to break through and attack; when positioned further back, she does not act as a deep-lying playmaker, with her creative play instead occurring in the final third. With the ball played down the left, Putellas often provides assists, using her skills on the ball to create goal-scoring opportunities in the final third. Her creative play is described by ''Give Me Sport'' as regularly "terrorising players with her fancy flicks and deft body feints". The website also noted her exceptional passing ability; though typically playing shorter passes, and more unsuccessful than not at playing through balls, Putellas otherwise has good statistics for pass accuracy and pass importance, and is often successful at passing into the penalty area. Not known for her speed, her ball management skills still allow her to dribble and keep possession, successfully dribbling an above-average amount. When the ball is played down the right, Putellas will position herself in the box, often at the back post, taking advantage of her relative height as an option to score. As a midfielder, she sometimes takes shots from outside the area, though these are less accurate than her shots inside the box, of which she takes many; her ability to find space in the box poses a significant attacking threat. When making forward runs instead of creating the attack, Putellas will come from behind her team's forward line and so is harder for the opposition defence to detect, allowing her to identify precise routes through and time her runs to receive a ball. In this play, she is also difficult to conventionally mark due to roaming. When needed, she can find herself in Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfield and Defender (association football)#Full-back, left-back positions to help Barcelona open up spaces and retain possession. Spain presses high, with Putellas able to contribute to defensive play high up the pitch. In both teams, Putellas' defensive play is typically blocking the opposition's deepest midfielder, winning over 60% of defensive duels, though she has a frequent tendency to foul players she tries to recover balls from. She makes a significant number of loose ball recoveries in the opposition half and has a good work rate when Gegenpressing, counter-pressing.

Off the pitch

Sponsorships and endorsements

Putellas is sponsored by Nike, Inc., Nike. In 2019, she scored the longest-range goal at the Camp Nou (100m) in a promotional event for Nike's new PhantomVNM Boots. Having first been in a Nike advertising campaign in 2015, Putellas was the face of their promotions for FC Barcelona after reaching the 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League final. For her 2021 Ballon d'Or win, Nike gifted her a custom gold crown and a pair of custom-made gold Phantom GT 2 boots. They gave her another custom pair of the same boots after her 2022 Ballon d'Or win, branded as Phantom GT II; the "ll" digraph in her surname was stylised as "" on the box to indicate her second win, with the heel also featuring "Alexia II". Collaborating with Nike in 2024, Putellas designed the "Barna" football boots, another Phantom variant with a colourway inspired by the city. Putellas has additional sponsorships with Cupra Racing, Cupra, Allianz and Visa Inc., Visa, and is a member of Team VISA. She is also an ambassador of fashion brand Mango (retailer), Mango, with the partnership focusing on promoting equality.

Recognitions and namesakes

Putellas has been dubbed "''La Reina''" (The Queen) by fans, the media, and by Nike, who included the nickname in a congratulatory post for her 2021 Ballon d'Or win. In a 2022 docu-series about Putellas, ''Alexia: Labor Omnia Vincit'', teammate Mapi León said that Putellas had earned such a sobriquet for her contributions to football both on and off the pitch. She had first been given the nickname in a tongue-in-cheek fashion at the 2021 Copa de la Reina final; neither the RFEF president, Luis Rubiales, nor sponsor Queen Letizia of Spain, Queen Letizia attended the match as planned, considered a snub towards expected winners Barcelona. When Barcelona won and Putellas was named player of the tournament, her teammates crowned her in the press conference afterwards and parodied treating her as the queen. Putellas was awarded the 2021 , Spain's Premios Nacionales del Deporte, National Sports Award for the best overall sportswoman, which was given to her in person by Queen Letizia in 2023. After Lionel Messi and Johan Cruyff, Putellas was the third footballer to be awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi, one of the highest civilian orders in Catalonia. She also received the , one of the highest civilian orders in Barcelona. For International Women's Day 2023, the Scenic viewpoint, viewpoint (''mirador'') overlooking historic Romanesque architecture, Romanesque monuments in Sant Joan les Fonts was named for Putellas. A children's book, ''Quin nom li posarem?'', was published about the process, focusing on the importance of recognising important women. Also named after Putellas is the gymnasium at her childhood school in Mollet, with the munipality having honoured her with the International Sports Award in both 2010 and 2011. In 2021, after she won the Ballon d'Or, Mollet announced plans to award Putellas the civic title (akin to Freedom of the City) "''Per Mollet''". The municipality also proposed renaming their football pitch after her; she turned this down, saying that she wanted the pitch to continue honouring the Gonzalvo brothers (Juli Gonzalvo, Juli, Josep Gonzalvo, Josep, and Marià Gonzalvo, Marià, after whom it was originally named), fellow FC Barcelona footballers from Mollet. Alexia Putellas Creus 2.jpg, Putellas receiving the Creu de Sant Jordi in 2021 Barcelona femení Medalla d'Honor del Parlament de Catalunya 02 (Putellas 2).jpg, Putellas receiving the Medalla d'Honor del Parlament de Catalunya on behalf of Barcelona Femení in 2023 Pont Medieval-Sant Joan les Fonts(Catalunya).jpg, View from ''Mirador d'Alèxia Putellas'' in Sant Joan les Fonts

Media depictions of Putellas

''Follow my dreams'', a mural depicting Putellas as Superwoman, was painted by Italian neo-pop artist TVBoy in the neighbourhood of Gràcia in 2022. It was partially inspired by TVBoy's young daughter telling him she wanted to be a footballer like Putellas, and debuted on Father's Day in March 2022, with TVBoy saying that he hoped the mural would inspire more girls. The mural of Putellas has received many visits but, despite the popularity of both Putellas and the mural in their city, has also been vandalised. In January 2023 it was defaced with graffiti of Lesbophobia, lesbophobic slurs and misogynistic comments, being restored by TVBoy again in February. At the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai in 2021, an image of Putellas – named Women's Player of the Year at the ceremony – was displayed on the Burj Khalifa, the first time a woman's image has been displayed on the building. Artwork depicting her (combining her head and a golden ball) was included in the 2022 "Fútbol. Arte. Iconos. En ese orden." exhibit of famous footballers at the Casa Seat in Barcelona and, later that year, a wax figure of her was added to the Barcelona wax museum. Both of Putellas' Ballons d'Or are on display in the FC Barcelona Museum. In 2022, Putellas was given an overall rating of 92 in the football simulation video game ''FIFA 23'', the highest rating in the game for any player, including men. When the franchise rebranded in 2023, releasing ''EA Sports FC 24'' as the next installment, Putellas had the joint-highest overall rating, at 91. Her player card's total statistics in ''FC 24'' made her the highest-rated Ultimate Team player in the history of the franchise; as the first game with women's players available in Ultimate Team mode, Putellas' rating received some criticism from gamers who do not watch women's football. The first song on Brazilian band Skank (band), Skank's 2014 album ' is a tribute to Putellas. Titled "Alexia", it was inspired by her viral goal in the 2013 Copa de la Reina final and compares her to global icons including Messi, and Catalan icons Antoni Gaudí and Joan Miró, as well as commenting on her style of play. The band visited Putellas in Barcelona to play her the song and seek her approval before releasing it. The 2023 song "Alexia Putellas" by Ochoa featuring Laüra Bonsai is also named for her. For Holy Week in Spain, Holy Week 2022, Easter mona, Easter ''monas'' depicting her in some way were the most popular design of ''mona'' in Catalonia, overtaking Messi designs.

Bibliography and filmography

Putellas is the author of a pseudo-autobiographical children's book series, ''Alexia Superfutbolista'', with three books as of 2022. She has been featured in various miniseries documenting female footballers, including the 2021 Rakuten TV ''Campeonas'', the 2022 FC Barcelona media, Barça TV+ ''Queens of the Pitch'', and the third episode of UEFA's 2023 ''Equals''. Putellas is one of the prominent Catalan women, along with teammate Bonmatí, showcased in the SX3 series ''Superheroïnes''. There have been two series focused on Putellas exclusively, both released in 2022: TV3 (Catalonia), TV3's ''La nit d'Alèxia'' and Amazon Prime Video's ''Alexia: Labor Omnia Vincit''. The latter was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Sports Documentary, the only Spanish nominee at the 51st International Emmy Awards.

Advocacy

In 2019, Putellas spoke out against Trial of Catalonia independence leaders, prison sentences for Catalan independence movement, Catalan independence leaders in the aftermath of the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, tweeting in Catalan language, Catalan that the sentences were "not the solution" and calling for democratic processes to move forward. Putellas spoke Catalan (as well as English and Spanish) in her acceptance speech for her second Ballon d'Or, drawing anger from some people in Spain. In 2023, the dress she wore to this ceremony was auctioned at the People in Red gala to raise money for funding research into HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. Putellas had been part of the Madrid Pride parade for Madrid lesbian bar Fulanita de Tal in 2019.

Eleven Foundation

In 2015, when CF Mollet UE started a women's football section, Putellas was invited to be ambassador, a role she accepted; she regularly visits the club when she is in her hometown. This fuelled her interest in supporting formative women's football. When she was unable to play during her ACL injury and hit "one of [her] lowest points", Putellas started developing an initiative to support girls' football. She founded the Eleven Foundation in 2024, aiming to support girls through football and reduce inequality; it had plans to provide football training for 300 girls around the world.

Personal life

Putellas was close with her father. Though he was ill with heart problems during her time at Levante, he constantly travelled to Valencia to watch her play. She considered studying medicine to help him; in 2012, just before the start of the 2012 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, he died. Putellas has goal celebration, celebrated goals by pointing her fingers to the sky in dedication to her father. In 2020, after close friend Virginia Torrecilla was diagnosed with cancer, Putellas began wearing Torrecillas's number 14 with the Spain national team. She speaks Catalan as her primary language, having learnt Spanish language, Spanish in school as a child and English language, English in the 2020s. She has a pet dog, a Pomeranian dog, Pomeranian called Nala, who has an Instagram account. While Putellas does not discuss her relationships, she has shared social media posts featuring partners. After winning the Champions League in 2023, a video of Putellas greeting her girlfriend in the stands went viral on TikTok. Putellas has a large number of tattoos, including various Latin phrases (prominently ''Labor omnia vincit''); a Hand of Fatima; an Eye of Horus; a Barcelona panot tile with "Made in" written above; a football; the number 112 (combining her first Spain shirt number, 12, with her iconic shirt number, 11); and a silhouette of her father holding her as an infant and handing her a football.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Spain's and Catalonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Putellas goal.''

Honours

Espanyol * Copa de la Reina: 2010 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2010 *

: 2008 Barcelona *Primera División (women), Primera División: 2012–13 Primera División (women), 2012–13, 2013–14 Primera División (women), 2013–14, 2014–15 Primera División (women), 2014–15, 2019–20 Primera División (women), 2019–20, 2020–21 Primera División (women), 2020–21, 2021–22 Primera División (women), 2021–22, 2022–23 Primera División (women), 2022–23, 2023–24 Liga F, 2023–24, 2024–25 Liga F, 2024–25 *

: 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League, 2020–21, 2022–23 UEFA Women's Champions League, 2022–23, 2023–24 UEFA Women's Champions League, 2023–24, runner-up: 2018–19 UEFA Women's Champions League, 2018–19, 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League, 2021–22 * Copa de la Reina: 2013 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2013, 2014 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2014, 2017 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2017, 2018 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2018, 2019–20 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2019–20, 2020–21 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2020–21, 2021–22 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2021–22, 2023–24 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2023–24 *Supercopa de España Femenina, Supercopa de España: 2019–20 Supercopa de España Femenina, 2019–20, 2021–22 Supercopa de España Femenina, 2021–22, 2024–25 Supercopa de España Femenina, 2024–25 *

: 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Spain U17 * UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship:

Spain *

: 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2023 * UEFA Women's Nations League: 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League, 2023–24 Individual * Ballon d'Or Féminin:

, 2022 Ballon d'Or, 2022 *

: The Best FIFA Football Awards 2021, 2021, The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022#The Best FIFA Women's Player, 2022 *Tuttosport#Golden Player Woman Award, Golden Player Woman Award: 2022 * UEFA Women's Player of the Year: 2020–21, 2021–22 *UEFA Club Football Awards, UEFA Women's Champions League Player of the Season: 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League, 2021–22 *UEFA Club Football Awards#Women's award 3, UEFA Women's Champions League Midfielder of the Season: 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League#Midfielder of the season, 2020–21 *

Squad of the Season: 2018–19 UEFA Women's Champions League, 2018–19, 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League, 2020–21, 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League, 2021–22 *UEFA Women's Champions League#Top scorers by tournament, UEFA Women's Champions League Best Goalscorer: 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League#Top goalscorers, 2021–22 *IFFHS World's Best Player#Women's winners, IFFHS Women's Player of the Year: 2021, 2022 *IFFHS World's Best Playmaker#Women's winners, IFFHS Women's Playmaker of the Year: 2021, 2022 *International Sports Press Association – Best Female Athlete of the Year : 2022 *World Soccer (magazine)#Women's World Player of the Year, World Soccer Women's World Player of the Year: 2021 *Globe Soccer Awards, Globe Soccer Women's Player of the Year: Globe Soccer Awards#2021, 2021 Globe Soccer Awards#2022, 2022 *FIFPro#FIFA FIFPRO Women's World 11, FIFA FIFPRO Women's World 11: The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022#FIFA FIFPRO Women's World 11, 2022, 2024 *Trofeo Aldo Rovira: 2020–21, 2021–22 *Premi Barça Jugadors (Barça Players Award): 2018–19 *Catalan Women's Player of the Year: 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022 *Primera División (women), Primera División MVP of the Season: 2019–20 Primera División (women), 2019–20 * Copa de la Reina Final MVP: 2013 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2013, 2014 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2014, 2020–21 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2021 * Copa de la Reina Top goalscorer: 2020–21 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol#Top goalscorers, 2020–21, 2021–22 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, 2021–22 * Spain women's national team Player of the Year: 2021 * List of Liga F Players of the Month, Liga F Player of the Month: 2024–25_Liga_F#Monthly_awards, October 2024 *Primera División (women), Primera División Team of the Season: 2015–16 Primera División (women), 2015–16, 2018–19 Primera División (women), 2018–19 *Goal (website)#Women's winners, GOAL50 Women's Player of the Year: 2021, 2022 *The 100 Best Female Footballers In The World #1: 2021, 2022 * Best XI: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 *Fútbol Draft Best Left Winger: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 *Fútbol Draft Best Left Central Midfielder: 2015 *SheBelieves Cup Tournament MVP: 2020 SheBelieves Cup, 2020 *IFFHS World Team#Women's winners, IFFHS Women's World Team: 2021, 2022 *IFFHS Women's UEFA Team: 2021, 2022, 2024 *Creu de Sant Jordi: honoured 2021 *Gold Medal for Sporting Merit: honoured 2021 *: 2023 *International Sports Award Mollet: 2010, 2011