The Queen has made a decision as painful as it is wise, typical of a footballer who knows how to read the game and manage the timing of the match and life, captain of Barcelona who has just won her fourth Champions League. The title closes an extraordinary chapter, sustained by the work ethic and talent of a unique generation, and opens a period of new roles whose foundation will necessarily be Alexia’s legacy. The leader has emptied herself and is left without strength to carry the Barça flag for one more season. She does not deserve to have money talked about when it is still unknown whether she will continue her career in London. The backstory will transcend over time if there is any after choosing the best moment to say goodbye in an elegant and discreet manner, just as she is and has always been, from the stadium where she has competed every matchday for the League.
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Gratitude prevails over any reproach once the conquest of the European Cup has been collectively celebrated. She has never personalized success except when she was twice chosen Ballon d’Or. She has been a pioneer on the podium after working as a laborer since she was very young, a time when she could not enter Barça, but fought in noble teams that have cared for women’s football like Sabadell, Espanyol, and Levante. She did not join FC Barcelona until 2012, when the league champion team was born, far from the professionalization that began in 2015. The common thread of growth and success answers to the name Alexia. It has been 14 seasons to remember for the football, social, and cultural revolution that the blaugrana team has meant and also the national team with the conquest of the 2023 World Cup.
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Alexia’s imprint has been evident even in tournaments where her presence on the field was less due to injuries and the spotlight fell on figures like Rubiales. She has known how to be and be the reference of a way of playing and managing, to the point of becoming an idol for both young and old, and of course for the generation of the Barça youth team that already points to the FC Barcelona squad with names like Serrajordi. All want to be Alexia, those who are here, those coming up, and those who will come, a symbol of the female footballer who has conquered power from precariousness and effort, and naturally from the class of a unique player, the highest expression of Barça’s style. No team has been more scrupulous with the blaugrana ideology of positional play, possession, and pressing devised by Cruyff. It is enough to review Saturday’s final after a season of economic tightness that forced competing with a short squad, conditioned by injuries and maximum pressure for coach Romeu. The team responded with maturity, character, mentality, and competitive spirit until thrashing OL. The synchrony with which the players played and their control of space and time was as brilliant as the purity of their football — Henry’s word. Barça assumed the pressure from identity and lifted the Cup with a 4-0. Rivals are in such a hurry to win that they have decided to sign those who are supposed to have Barça’s magic potion. It does not seem so easy and the answer is Alexia. Impossible to clone The Queen, whose departure at 32 does not seem to be the only one if doubts about Batlle, León, and Paralluelo are considered.
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Alexia already changed history, so now the ball is with Barça and those who have been vying to reign for some time.
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