By TALES AZZONI, AP Sports Writer<\/p>\n
MADRID (AP) \u2014 Two-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner Alexia Putellas, who has helped women\u2019s soccer grow in Spain and worldwide, is leaving Barcelona after 14 seasons.<\/p>\n
Barcelona said Tuesday that Putellas will officially bid farewell at an event at Camp Nou stadium on Wednesday, giving the club a \u201cchance to recognize the legacy created by a player who has become a role model on and off the field and who has helped women\u2019s football to grow across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old Putellas on Saturday helped Barcelona win the Champions League<\/a> title for the fourth time in six seasons.<\/p>\n There was no immediate announcement about her next move, with speculation in Spain that she may join the fast-emerging London City Lionesses. Putellas attended a Lionesses game in London in January.<\/p>\n Putellas played 507 games for Barcelona \u2014 second on the all-time list \u2014 since arriving at age 18 in 2012 from Levante, the Catalan club said.<\/p>\n Putellas scored 232 goals for Barcelona, a club record, and won 38 trophies, including four Champions Leagues and 10 Spanish league titles.<\/p>\n \u201cThe time has come to acknowledge that I\u2019ve given everything for these colors,\u201d Putellas said in a video posted on her social media accounts. \u201cIt\u2019s been a perfect story.\u201d<\/p>\n She was Barcelona\u2019s best player when it won its first Champions League in 2021 and helped put women\u2019s soccer in Spain on the global map when she won back-to-back Ballon d\u2019Or awards in 2021 and 2022. Her boost to the sport was considered key to helping Spain win the 2023 World Cup.<\/p>\n When Spain was embroiled in crisis after its then soccer federation president Luis Rubiales kissed a player without consent during the World Cup awards ceremony, it was Putellas who led the player revolt<\/a> that prompted his downfall.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve taken the women\u2019s team further than we ever imagined,\u201d Putellas said. \u201cAt the beginning, being a soccer player wasn\u2019t even recognized as a profession. Now I feel privileged to have been part of this change.\u201d<\/p>\n