BARCELONA -- When Alexia Putellas met with then-Barcelona coach Xavi Llorens in 2012 ahead of re-joining the club from Levante, he told her that her return would mark a "before and after" in the team's history. Even Llorens, though, would not have expected the transformation Barça would undergo across the next 14 years.
Putellas announced she would be leaving the club earlier this week when her contract expires this summer. But the 32-year-old exits in style after guiding the team to a fourth Champions League last weekend, with a 4-0 win over OL Lyonnes in Oslo, where she was later named the competition's Player of the Season.
More European success ensured Barça ended their campaign with a clean sweep of trophies -- the Champions League, Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Spanish Supercopa -- a quadruple they won for the second time in three years.
It takes Putellas' silverware tally at the club to 38, including 10 league titles and four European Cups. In that time, she has made over 500 appearances, netting 232 goals from midfield and winning the Ballon d'Or twice. Only Lionel Messi (672) has more goals for either the men's or women's team.
However, Putellas' legacy at the club extends beyond numbers. Barça's evolution from relative nobodies in the women's game when she returned in 2012 to the dominant force they are now in Europe cannot be explained without her. Her teammate Irene Paredes called her the "motor" behind the team's success; president-elect Joan Laporta said she is "more than a player."
Wander around Barcelona for the day and there's a good chance you will see someone wearing a No. 11 Putellas shirt; head to a game at the city's biggest club -- men's or women's -- and you certainly will.
Her performances, image and work off the pitch (for Barça and the Spain national team) have allowed the team to turn professional, with their working conditions improving all the time. A large part of Barça breaking their attendance record twice in women's football, at over 90,000, could be attributed to her.
On Wednesday, as she said goodbye at an event at Camp Nou you could literally see Putellas' legacy: the 38 trophies lined up on the pitch, the huge media presence, messages from men's legends Xavi Hernández and Andres Iniesta and, perhaps most significantly, in the tears of her young teammates.
Putellas, known as La Reina (The Queen), is a role model to them who became a friend; someone who has driven standards on a daily basis to bring repeated success. "Maintaining that level of demand over 14 years is not normal," she said this week.
She added that she is leaving now because she feels everything is in place for the team to carry on winning. Yet she is not the only player off this summer, with Barça's already small squad taking another hit.
Football can be relentless. Less than a week after winning the Champions League, Barça are mourning the loss of one of the most storied players in the club's history. As Llorens predicted, she marked a before and after. Now the new European champions must ask: What awaits after Putellas?
Who else could be leaving
As Rosalia's "Magnolias" played over the Camp Nou speakers and the cameras focused on Putellas, masked in the emotion of the day was the fact she won't be the only key player the Champions League winners will lose this summer. Barça announced on Thursday that full-back Ona Batlle will also leave upon the expiry of her contract three years after signing from Manchester United. ESPN has reported she will join Arsenal after winning 11 of a possible 12 trophies during her time with the Blaugrana.
Another player moving to London is defender Mapi León. Barça confirmed she will leave when her deal expires in June and sources have told ESPN she has an agreement to join London City Lionesses. Putellas has also been linked with London City, but says she will take her time to decide her next move, with sources telling ESPN she also has interest from clubs in the NWSL and Mexico.
Like Putellas, both Batlle and León started last weekend's Champions League final, and both leave with plenty more to give on the pitch. Defender Marta Torrejón was also expected to depart, although her exit would not have had much impact on a playing level -- the 36-year-old's minutes have reduced in recent years -- but she would have been a loss to the dressing room and now sources suggest she could extend her terms by an additional year.
Attackers Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo are also out of contract this summer. Before the Champions League final, where Paralluelo scored twice, club sources were optimistic both would renew. Neither have yet to commit for next season, though, and reports are now suggesting Paralluelo has other offers on the table, including from OL Lyonnes.
Even coach Pere Romeu is out of contact next month, although he said this week an extension will be agreed soon.
Who else has departed in the last two years?
Significant player exits have become commonplace at Barça over the last two years.
Right back Lucy Bronze (Chelsea) and forward Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal) both moved to England in the summer of 2024, with midfielder Keira Walsh (Chelsea) also returning to her homeland in January 2025. All three, like Putellas, Batlle and León, would have been considered starters when available.
Ingrid Engen (OL Lyonnes), Fridolina Rolfö (Man United), Jana Fernández and LucÃa Corrales (both London City Lionesses) continued the exodus last summer. Engen had played regularly but mainly because of injuries and suspensions to other players, while Rölfo had started to lose her place to Esmee Brugts; Fernández and Corrales both headed to LCL in moves which caught the attention as they were not established in the first team, but were highly rated academy graduates on the brink of breaking through.
Why are players leaving such a successful team?
There is no one-size-fits-all response as to why.
Before getting into individual reasons, Barça have been relatively open to letting players go. Sources said the majority of departures were not cost-cutting, but conceded that spending had been curbed. The sources pointed out the effort that had been made to ensure the club's big players, such as three-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana BonmatÃ, signed new deals.
It comes after a period of increased spending. The overall wage bill in 2021-22 was €6 million. By 2024-25, it had risen to €14.3 million, per the club's official accounts. The figures are not yet available for 2025-26.
In Putellas' case, she felt the time was right to leave, having achieved all she can; she could have triggered an option to remain for another year, but had made her mind up to depart. For that reason, there were no real negotiations with Barça. She may go on to earn more money elsewhere, but she didn't want money to be considered as the major factor in her decision.
Caldentey had also won everything, repeatedly, at Barça and was offered the chance to be one of the stars at Arsenal. Meanwhile, Fernández and Corrales were given a quicker path to regular football in London.
Of course, money can also be a factor. Personal reasons have also played a part at times -- Bronze and Walsh had the pull of returning home -- while the desire to play in a more competitive league also contributes. Barça have won seven Liga F titles in a row; they have won 28 of their 29 league games this season, which is not healthy. The players feel more could be done to improve the domestic competition.
"We have problems," Bonmatà said last year. "We asked for changes, for a reduction in the number of teams [from 16] because we believe that the league would then be more competitive and the level would increase. We have [the WSL] next to us, a competitive and attractive league, and we don't want to look at it. I don't get it."
Will Barcelona make signings
Barça, as has been the case with the men's team, have leaned on the La Masia academy in recent years. In 2024, they did spend big to sign striker Ewa Pajor and forward Kika Nazareth, but last summer, despite losing a large part of the squad's depth, the only arrival was defender Laia Aleixandri on a free transfer.
Instead, they placed their trust in La Masia. Defender Aïcha Cámara and midfielder Clara Serrajordi were promoted to the first team and, at the time, it seemed risky as Barça's squad looked short. But the players did not forget the criticism that came as a result of those decisions when they won the Champions League last weekend.
"At the start of the season, we heard that the team wasn't the same, that the squad was too small and I don't know what else," Graham Hansen said. "That motivated us to show how good we are. Yes, there have been difficult years recently, we won't lie, there has been a lack of money, but the men and the women have been able to remain at the top level because of years of hard work done in La Masia."
As more players leave, sources suggest the best replacements may once again come from in-house. Without Putellas, Barça are well-stocked in midfield; Bonmatà and Patri Guijarro are two of the world's best, while Serrajordi, who started the Champions League final aged 18, Nazareth, Vicky López and Sydney Schertenleib are all options to be the third starter.
The club may need a boost in defense as Batlle and León depart, but Camara is primed to step in and Aleixandri will return from injury. At some point, of course, investment will be needed. Sources say signings are expected this summer, but there is currently huge belief in La Masia. Indeed, one source described the club as unique in the women's game: "They will be OK because no one else has an academy so in tune with the first team."
Putellas actually only spent one year at Barça as a youth player. La Masia existed before her -- although not to the extent it does today for the women's team -- and will continue once she's gone. But seeing Serrajordi and the other academy graduates cry as Putellas said farewell, it's obvious that part of her legacy is the imprint she has left on the next generation. And that will be key to what comes next for the club.
