Alexia Putellas had scored twice, but she still wanted more.
It was the 92nd minute of Spain’s 6-2 rout of Belgium when the 31-year-old took yet another shot on goal. This one sailed over, but she could not contain her smile at the final whistle. For the second time in a row at the European Championship, she was the player of the match.
Putellas had picked up that award in the 5-0 opening win against Portugal and it was a similar story of dominance against Belgium. Along with her two goals, she provided two assists, made six key passes, produced seven shots on goal, won six of her nine duels and took 111 touches according to Sofascore — only bettered by team-mate Patri Guijarro (142).
The Barcelona midfielder is hungry, in tune and showing a confidence she has often lacked since 2022.
The closer this summer’s Euros approached, the more Putellas’ face lit up when anyone mentioned the competition. This is the first time she has played at a European Championship in eight years — an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury on the eve of the last edition in England sidelined her for nearly 10 months.
More than that, however, this is the first international tournament Putellas has been able to truly enjoy. This is despite winning her first Champions League title in 2021, lifting the first of two Ballon d’Or awards at the end of that season — a first for Spanish women’s football — and helping Spain claim their first World Cup in 2023.
Putellas’ ACL tear in a training session came when she was at her peak.
“At that moment, my knee didn’t hurt,” Putellas said in her documentary, Labor Omnia Vincit. “Something else hurt: missing what I thought was going to be the best moment of my football career, the best I had ever felt.”
Putellas was injured on the eve of the last Euros (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
It was a huge psychological blow, one that prompted Putellas to text her mother and her agent saying she would have to give up football.
That proved to be premature, as Putellas returned to the pitch in April 2023 and was back in the Spain squad for that summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. She played seven times and provided an assist, but had not built up enough rhythm to show her best form.
Then, in a Champions League match with Benfica in November of the following season, she injured her left knee again. She underwent surgery and was kept out for three months.
The turning point was the 2024 Champions League final in Bilbao against Lyon. With Barca leading 1-0, Putellas came on in the 92nd minute — she had also come on for a few minutes in the 2023 final against Wolfsburg — and produced a decisive impact. In the 95th minute, she scored to make it 2-0 just when Lyon were pushing for extra time. She promptly ran towards the fans and took off her shirt in a reflex action. Not only had Barca defeated a team they had often struggled to beat, but Putellas had put the worst period of her career behind her.
Sources close to the player, who prefer to remain anonymous to protect relationships, say this is when Putellas’ 2024-25 season began. And she continued in that vein this campaign, regaining her place in Barca’s starting line-up and shining as one of Liga F’s outstanding players.
Putellas has played 2,797 minutes across 39 matches, scoring 22 goals in all competitions — just four fewer than in her Ballon d’Or-winning 2020-21 season.
Putellas’ 2024 Champions League final goal was a turning point (Ramsey Cardy – Sportsfile/UEFA via Getty Images)
In November, she scored her 200th goal for Barcelona — she now has 213. She was the team’s top assist provider this term (16) and the team’s third-highest scorer, behind only Ewa Pajor (a remarkable 47 goals) and Claudia Pina (26). In the history of Barca’s men’s and women’s teams, only Lionel Messi and Cesar Rodriguez have scored more goals in official matches than Putellas.
Barca lifted Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Supercopa de Espana titles as expected, but came up short in the Champions League final against Arsenal. Putellas did not shine in that game, but the disappointment does not seem to have affected her performances with Spain.
People close to her say she has been mentally noting all the criticism and doubts that were expressed about her when she returned from injury and was not performing at the same level as before. They say this is like fuel for her.
No date provided greater fuel than the start of the Euros. Not only because of this being her third appearance at the tournament after playing in 2013 and 2017, but also because the last edition was where she fell to her lowest ebb — and because it is the only major medal she has not won.
Putellas is an icon of Barcelona and Spanish football. Since joining the club in July 2012, she has undergone all phases of Barca’s professionalisation. Until recently, she was the only big name in the media spotlight of Spanish women’s football, whether she liked it or not. But the growth of the game, particularly since the World Cup win, means she now shares the spotlight with other players.
Multiple dressing-room sources have told The Athletic she remains the most influential player behind the scenes for both club and country.
She formed a tight-knit group with Jenni Hermoso and Irene Paredes, who often jokingly called themselves “the dinosaurs” as they had been with the national team for such a long time (although Hermoso has been left out of this tournament). But the reality is that Putellas still has plenty of her best years ahead of her.
“Let’s leave her alone, let’s not put that pressure on her,” Paredes warned the press in Thun after that win against Belgium, which qualified Spain for the quarter-finals. “Because of who she is, because of her achievements, she carries a lot of weight. When she is calm and confident, we all benefit.”
Putellas, meanwhile, chose to draw attention to her team-mates in her post-match press conference, highlighting Esther Gonzalez’s pressing, the passing of Claudia Pina and Mariona Caldentey, and Athenea del Castillo’s runs in behind.
“I want it to be Spain’s Euros, I don’t care if it’s mine or not,” she said in an interview with Marca this week.
With a fully fit Putellas, Spain may make it just that.
(Top photo: Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)