There's no need to list the achievements of someone like Putellas, who is already a living legend in every sense of the world – in fact, there’s scarcely time in the day to give the full rundown – but let’s go through some of the headlines – just for fun, of course.
Aside from just the two Ballon d’Or Féminin awards, Putellas has lifted a staggering nine league titles and 12 domestic cups with Barcelona, to add to her two cup triumphs with Espanyol, as well as three UEFA Women’s Champions League crowns. But that’s not all. Add to that a World Cup title and a staggering 64 further individual awards, and you have one of the most decorated careers in football history.
But for all those ups in this astonishing career, there have been downs, too. A serious knee injury in 2022 disrupted her meteoric progress, and a later surgery in December 2023 left further participation on a knife-edge ahead of a massive Women’s Champions League final.
In that final, Barcelona met old rivals Lyon in a replay of the 2019 and 2022 finals – both of which the French side won – looking for revenge. With five minutes to go, Barcelona had the lead thanks to Aitana Bonmatí’s earlier strike, but the French giants were knocking on the door. Enter Putellas.
After coming on at the death to help close the game out, the double Ballon d’Or winner netted in the 95th minute to crush any final hopes of a comeback, in front of 50,000 at Bilbao’s San Mames stadium. Here, ahead of the 2025-26 UEFA Women’s Champions League opener, Putellas talks us through the moment she achieved her ultimate redemption, the true euphoria of scoring a winning goal, and the chaos of celebrating a massive final victory.
Q: It was quite a tough season for you coming back from injury. You came on in the 92nd minute - what was on your mind at that moment in time when you came on?
A: Yeah, it was a tough season, just like the one before that because of injuries that I’m sure everyone knows about already. But to have the chance to come back in a Champions League final and help the team when we were 1-0 up, at a time when Lyon were throwing the kitchen sink at it because it was the final moments of the game, desperate to level things up.
I was feeling that everything was under control, and we had a good stranglehold on the game and protecting our lead, but it was obvious to me that Lyon were leaving a lot of gaps, and I was full of energy, so I pushed up. Ultimately, between Ona (Battle), (Clàudia) Pina, myself and the rest of the team, who weren’t there to help directly with the ball, we were able to create a chance and I managed to finish it off.
Q: Even though you have years of experience, what was going through your mind when the coach was saying, “Right, Alexia, it’s your time”?
A: Well, I’ve been told to go and warm up a few times now—the same thing happened to me in Eindhoven (in the 2022-23 final). That time you spend warming up is also good to be able to visualise everything and see where you can help out, if the coach tells you’re coming on, that’s what I use it for.
Q: And I guess you’re not thinking about coming on in the 92nd minute and scoring the winning goal? When you came on, what were you thinking about—helping the team, see out the game, kill off the game, keeping the ball to protect your 1-0 lead…?
A: Well, it was exactly that. We needed to cut off the Lyon attacks that were pinning us back more and more considering the time in the game it was. We also needed to pick ourselves up and regain some confidence, and feel like we were dominating things again, and mainly just stopping their attacks.
Q: That moment when you were asking for the ball from Pina, were you 100% sure that if she passed you the ball, you were going to score?
A: Yes, I knew it. I was just praying that she would read the situation like she always does and give it to me on my left foot so that I could hit it as sweetly as possible and finish it off.
Q: Well, you certainly struck it with everything—and it went perfectly between Christiane Endler’s hand and the crossbar… What did you feel? Was it a moment of just pure euphoria?
A: It’s really difficult to put into words what I felt at that moment when I saw the ball was going in. I’m so lucky to have had the career that I have up until now—I’ve experienced some great stuff and continue to do so, and that moment seeing the ball go in and scoring was really one of the most amazing feelings I’ve had throughout my whole career here.
Q: And we’ve got to talk about the celebration, of course. Was that feeling of pure relief and passion from you, just so enormous you had to take your shirt off?
A: Yes, absolutely. I had no control of myself. I sometimes see it again and obviously took my shirt off. There was so much tension and adrenaline—we’d been through so much, as I was saying before about the injuries and if you add to that the pressure of a Champions League final where you’re just a hair’s width away from lifting the trophy… It all came together. And with all the fans that had come—more than 30,000, 40,000 people who went to Bilbao—it was just a magical moment that I celebrated hard.
Q: Obviously, you had already scored in a Champions League final. Did this mean more than the others? Not to compare, but this celebration was a bit different.
You feel different things each time. I think I’ve been able to score in three Champions League finals. The first one was during the pandemic when the stadium was empty, so that was a bit different. It was also exciting because it was a penalty to make it 2-0.
It was in the 15th or 20th minute and it was very special. The next one was in Turin, I think, which we lost. The game didn’t go as we hoped. We got the goal because we needed to get back into it and I honestly didn’t enjoy it. And this one was in Bilbao, which was incredible. Each of them is different, but the one in Bilbao stays with me.
Q: Some time has passed since you scored that goal. When you think about it now, after another Champions League season, what do you remember most about this moment?
A: I don’t remember much about the specific moment because it was one of those moments when you don’t know and can’t describe your emotions. There was so much adrenaline.
And then, when the match finished, it felt like… I don’t know. I wanted to enjoy the moment because I was able to win another Champions League, score and lift the trophy after so many injuries. I felt like I had put the injuries behind me,
I felt like I was strong and confident as a player again, and I was very motivated to return to the start of the previous season. And I felt like I had put a bad period of injuries behind me.
There's no need to list the achievements of someone like Putellas, who is already a living legend in every sense of the world – in fact, there’s scarcely time in the day to give the full rundown – but let’s go through some of the headlines – just for fun, of course.
Aside from just the two Ballon d’Or Féminin awards, Putellas has lifted a staggering nine league titles and 12 domestic cups with Barcelona, to add to her two cup triumphs with Espanyol, as well as three UEFA Women’s Champions League crowns. But that’s not all. Add to that a World Cup title and a staggering 64 further individual awards, and you have one of the most decorated careers in football history.
But for all those ups in this astonishing career, there have been downs, too. A serious knee injury in 2022 disrupted her meteoric progress, and a later surgery in December 2023 left further participation on a knife-edge ahead of a massive Women’s Champions League final.
In that final, Barcelona met old rivals Lyon in a replay of the 2019 and 2022 finals – both of which the French side won – looking for revenge. With five minutes to go, Barcelona had the lead thanks to Aitana Bonmatí’s earlier strike, but the French giants were knocking on the door. Enter Putellas.
After coming on at the death to help close the game out, the double Ballon d’Or winner netted in the 95th minute to crush any final hopes of a comeback, in front of 50,000 at Bilbao’s San Mames stadium. Here, ahead of the 2025-26 UEFA Women’s Champions League opener, Putellas talks us through the moment she achieved her ultimate redemption, the true euphoria of scoring a winning goal, and the chaos of celebrating a massive final victory.
Q: It was quite a tough season for you coming back from injury. You came on in the 92nd minute - what was on your mind at that moment in time when you came on?
A: Yeah, it was a tough season, just like the one before that because of injuries that I’m sure everyone knows about already. But to have the chance to come back in a Champions League final and help the team when we were 1-0 up, at a time when Lyon were throwing the kitchen sink at it because it was the final moments of the game, desperate to level things up.
I was feeling that everything was under control, and we had a good stranglehold on the game and protecting our lead, but it was obvious to me that Lyon were leaving a lot of gaps, and I was full of energy, so I pushed up. Ultimately, between Ona (Battle), (Clàudia) Pina, myself and the rest of the team, who weren’t there to help directly with the ball, we were able to create a chance and I managed to finish it off.
Q: Even though you have years of experience, what was going through your mind when the coach was saying, “Right, Alexia, it’s your time”?
A: Well, I’ve been told to go and warm up a few times now—the same thing happened to me in Eindhoven (in the 2022-23 final). That time you spend warming up is also good to be able to visualise everything and see where you can help out, if the coach tells you’re coming on, that’s what I use it for.
Q: And I guess you’re not thinking about coming on in the 92nd minute and scoring the winning goal? When you came on, what were you thinking about—helping the team, see out the game, kill off the game, keeping the ball to protect your 1-0 lead…?
A: Well, it was exactly that. We needed to cut off the Lyon attacks that were pinning us back more and more considering the time in the game it was. We also needed to pick ourselves up and regain some confidence, and feel like we were dominating things again, and mainly just stopping their attacks.
Q: That moment when you were asking for the ball from Pina, were you 100% sure that if she passed you the ball, you were going to score?
A: Yes, I knew it. I was just praying that she would read the situation like she always does and give it to me on my left foot so that I could hit it as sweetly as possible and finish it off.
Q: Well, you certainly struck it with everything—and it went perfectly between Christiane Endler’s hand and the crossbar… What did you feel? Was it a moment of just pure euphoria?
A: It’s really difficult to put into words what I felt at that moment when I saw the ball was going in. I’m so lucky to have had the career that I have up until now—I’ve experienced some great stuff and continue to do so, and that moment seeing the ball go in and scoring was really one of the most amazing feelings I’ve had throughout my whole career here.
Q: And we’ve got to talk about the celebration, of course. Was that feeling of pure relief and passion from you, just so enormous you had to take your shirt off?
A: Yes, absolutely. I had no control of myself. I sometimes see it again and obviously took my shirt off. There was so much tension and adrenaline—we’d been through so much, as I was saying before about the injuries and if you add to that the pressure of a Champions League final where you’re just a hair’s width away from lifting the trophy… It all came together. And with all the fans that had come—more than 30,000, 40,000 people who went to Bilbao—it was just a magical moment that I celebrated hard.
Q: Obviously, you had already scored in a Champions League final. Did this mean more than the others? Not to compare, but this celebration was a bit different.
You feel different things each time. I think I’ve been able to score in three Champions League finals. The first one was during the pandemic when the stadium was empty, so that was a bit different. It was also exciting because it was a penalty to make it 2-0.
It was in the 15th or 20th minute and it was very special. The next one was in Turin, I think, which we lost. The game didn’t go as we hoped. We got the goal because we needed to get back into it and I honestly didn’t enjoy it. And this one was in Bilbao, which was incredible. Each of them is different, but the one in Bilbao stays with me.
Q: Some time has passed since you scored that goal. When you think about it now, after another Champions League season, what do you remember most about this moment?
A: I don’t remember much about the specific moment because it was one of those moments when you don’t know and can’t describe your emotions. There was so much adrenaline.
And then, when the match finished, it felt like… I don’t know. I wanted to enjoy the moment because I was able to win another Champions League, score and lift the trophy after so many injuries. I felt like I had put the injuries behind me,
I felt like I was strong and confident as a player again, and I was very motivated to return to the start of the previous season. And I felt like I had put a bad period of injuries behind me.
There's no need to list the achievements of someone like Putellas, who is already a living legend in every sense of the world – in fact, there’s scarcely time in the day to give the full rundown – but let’s go through some of the headlines – just for fun, of course.
Aside from just the two Ballon d’Or Féminin awards, Putellas has lifted a staggering nine league titles and 12 domestic cups with Barcelona, to add to her two cup triumphs with Espanyol, as well as three UEFA Women’s Champions League crowns. But that’s not all. Add to that a World Cup title and a staggering 64 further individual awards, and you have one of the most decorated careers in football history.
But for all those ups in this astonishing career, there have been downs, too. A serious knee injury in 2022 disrupted her meteoric progress, and a later surgery in December 2023 left further participation on a knife-edge ahead of a massive Women’s Champions League final.
In that final, Barcelona met old rivals Lyon in a replay of the 2019 and 2022 finals – both of which the French side won – looking for revenge. With five minutes to go, Barcelona had the lead thanks to Aitana Bonmatí’s earlier strike, but the French giants were knocking on the door. Enter Putellas.
After coming on at the death to help close the game out, the double Ballon d’Or winner netted in the 95th minute to crush any final hopes of a comeback, in front of 50,000 at Bilbao’s San Mames stadium. Here, ahead of the 2025-26 UEFA Women’s Champions League opener, Putellas talks us through the moment she achieved her ultimate redemption, the true euphoria of scoring a winning goal, and the chaos of celebrating a massive final victory.
Q: It was quite a tough season for you coming back from injury. You came on in the 92nd minute - what was on your mind at that moment in time when you came on?
A: Yeah, it was a tough season, just like the one before that because of injuries that I’m sure everyone knows about already. But to have the chance to come back in a Champions League final and help the team when we were 1-0 up, at a time when Lyon were throwing the kitchen sink at it because it was the final moments of the game, desperate to level things up.
I was feeling that everything was under control, and we had a good stranglehold on the game and protecting our lead, but it was obvious to me that Lyon were leaving a lot of gaps, and I was full of energy, so I pushed up. Ultimately, between Ona (Battle), (Clàudia) Pina, myself and the rest of the team, who weren’t there to help directly with the ball, we were able to create a chance and I managed to finish it off.
Q: Even though you have years of experience, what was going through your mind when the coach was saying, “Right, Alexia, it’s your time”?
A: Well, I’ve been told to go and warm up a few times now—the same thing happened to me in Eindhoven (in the 2022-23 final). That time you spend warming up is also good to be able to visualise everything and see where you can help out, if the coach tells you’re coming on, that’s what I use it for.
Q: And I guess you’re not thinking about coming on in the 92nd minute and scoring the winning goal? When you came on, what were you thinking about—helping the team, see out the game, kill off the game, keeping the ball to protect your 1-0 lead…?
A: Well, it was exactly that. We needed to cut off the Lyon attacks that were pinning us back more and more considering the time in the game it was. We also needed to pick ourselves up and regain some confidence, and feel like we were dominating things again, and mainly just stopping their attacks.
Q: That moment when you were asking for the ball from Pina, were you 100% sure that if she passed you the ball, you were going to score?
A: Yes, I knew it. I was just praying that she would read the situation like she always does and give it to me on my left foot so that I could hit it as sweetly as possible and finish it off.
Q: Well, you certainly struck it with everything—and it went perfectly between Christiane Endler’s hand and the crossbar… What did you feel? Was it a moment of just pure euphoria?
A: It’s really difficult to put into words what I felt at that moment when I saw the ball was going in. I’m so lucky to have had the career that I have up until now—I’ve experienced some great stuff and continue to do so, and that moment seeing the ball go in and scoring was really one of the most amazing feelings I’ve had throughout my whole career here.
Q: And we’ve got to talk about the celebration, of course. Was that feeling of pure relief and passion from you, just so enormous you had to take your shirt off?
A: Yes, absolutely. I had no control of myself. I sometimes see it again and obviously took my shirt off. There was so much tension and adrenaline—we’d been through so much, as I was saying before about the injuries and if you add to that the pressure of a Champions League final where you’re just a hair’s width away from lifting the trophy… It all came together. And with all the fans that had come—more than 30,000, 40,000 people who went to Bilbao—it was just a magical moment that I celebrated hard.
Q: Obviously, you had already scored in a Champions League final. Did this mean more than the others? Not to compare, but this celebration was a bit different.
You feel different things each time. I think I’ve been able to score in three Champions League finals. The first one was during the pandemic when the stadium was empty, so that was a bit different. It was also exciting because it was a penalty to make it 2-0.
It was in the 15th or 20th minute and it was very special. The next one was in Turin, I think, which we lost. The game didn’t go as we hoped. We got the goal because we needed to get back into it and I honestly didn’t enjoy it. And this one was in Bilbao, which was incredible. Each of them is different, but the one in Bilbao stays with me.
Q: Some time has passed since you scored that goal. When you think about it now, after another Champions League season, what do you remember most about this moment?
A: I don’t remember much about the specific moment because it was one of those moments when you don’t know and can’t describe your emotions. There was so much adrenaline.
And then, when the match finished, it felt like… I don’t know. I wanted to enjoy the moment because I was able to win another Champions League, score and lift the trophy after so many injuries. I felt like I had put the injuries behind me,
I felt like I was strong and confident as a player again, and I was very motivated to return to the start of the previous season. And I felt like I had put a bad period of injuries behind me.
