In the 86th minute, Alexia Putellas left the field. She placed the armband on her teammate and friend Patri Guijarro, and headed to the sideline. Her eyes, full of tears. And the Camp Nou, standing, celebrating her, her two goals, and her leadership during the second leg of the Champions semifinal against Bayern. “It’s a historic event, a magical moment,” she said on TV3, after the match that puts them in the Champions final. “I’m very proud to be part of this. I feel super loved. It’s emotion from so much love, from achieving a goal we had for a long time; and happiness,” she added about her barely contained tears.
The match not only meant the ticket to Barça’s sixth consecutive final, a historic record. Also, for her, becoming the second highest scorer in Barça’s history by tying with César Rodríguez with 232 goals, the first among mortals after Leo Messi (672). And she achieved it at Camp Nou, where history and records have passed through her. And where just a month ago she also reached 500 matches with the blaugrana club. A perfect season for Alexia in which she has scored 21 goals and provided 13 assists.
“How could I not get emotional… another full Camp Nou. It has been a week in which I felt a bit bad. Seeing the change brought out the emotions I had been holding back all week. It’s not bad to show them,” said the captain. Always extremely self-demanding, Putellas was not satisfied with the performance in the first leg, a match that ended in a draw and left the tie open, sources close to the player told EL PAÍS. “The first days there was anger, frustration, because we felt we could have gone with an advantage. It’s part of that demand we have in the locker room, and that leads you to those emotions,” Alexia herself added on Disney+, holder of the rights to the women’s Champions. The captain played in a deeper position in midfield, focused on playmaking, unlike in the return leg, where she played further forward and could have more impact on the area.
The emotion continued after the end of the match, when Patri Guijarro approached to return the captain’s armband, and they embraced. “She is our leader, she is Ale. I told her she is the best,” Patri said in the mixed zone. “I told her we were going to be in Oslo, that there was little left and that we were almost there,” she added. Together they have lived through Barça’s seven Champions finals. For others, it will be the first. “She is like a sister. She has helped me a lot this season,” added Clara Serrajordi, one of the young players Alexia guides in the locker room and who maintains a great relationship with the captain’s family.
No one at Camp Nou missed that this Sunday’s match could have been Alexia’s last at the stadium. Before closing the season, Alexia has two finals ahead, the Copa de la Reina and the Champions final, but she is also at a decision point in her career. Unless she decides to extend her contract until 2027, Putellas’ contract with Barça ends this June: she could extend it until June 2027 if she wishes, according to the clause she signed in the last renewal. And she has strong offers from England. Tears, therefore, that raise doubts about a possible farewell. Her teammates cannot imagine a Barça without her. “For me, she should stay,” adds Serrajordi. “Barça is much Barça. Players have come and will continue to come. And Barça will remain there,” the captain told EL PAÍS earlier this year. Her future will be her decision. This Sunday, in front of Camp Nou, she knelt. And the crowd returned the reverence. The present is still hers.