Barcelona midfielder Alexia Putellas on the 'great show' the world is waiting to see in the Women's Champions League final
Monday, May 18, 2026
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Alexia Putellas spoke to UEFA about resilience, competitiveness and her fairy-tale 500th Barcelona game, ahead of the Women's Champions League final in Oslo.
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"It's like putting on your best outfit because the big day is coming – the day when all of Europe, indeed the whole world, is watching and waiting to see a great show," Alexia Putellas told UEFA, as Barcelona prepare to face OL Lyonnes in the 2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League final.
The last time these two sides faced each other in a Women's Champions League showpiece two seasons ago, midfielder Alexia came off the bench to wrap up Barcelona's 2-0 win with a late goal.
It was the first time her team had beaten their French rivals in a final, having lost their two previous meetings, and Jonatan Giráldez, who coached them to that victory, is now at OL Lyonnes, with former assistant Pere Romeu now in charge at Barcelona.
"Things have changed in that our coach is now on the other team and they've made a few changes to their squad, even though their key players are still there," Alexia said.
"Because it's a Women's Champions League final against a team like OL Lyonnes, I think it's difficult to predict what's going to happen.
"All I know is that it'll be a very close match and, ultimately, we're the two best teams in Europe, so it's going to be a great game."
Since joining Barcelona as an 18-year-old in 2012, Alexia has won three Women's Champions League titles, two Women's Ballon d'Ors and a multitude of domestic trophies.
A sixth consecutive European final is on the horizon for her side on Saturday 23 May, and she says their consistent high-level performances are the result of the squad's constant drive to continue improving.
"At Barcelona, the demands are always at the highest level, so you're in a constant state of not being satisfied and that pushes you to your limits. That's how I believe you have to be, or at least how I need to be at this club – always striving for excellence and constantly pushing yourself to be better.
"That makes you resilient, because living with that level of pressure for so many years inevitably builds resilience and keeps you going on and on without stopping."
After winning two successive Women's Champions League titles, Barcelona lost 1-0 to Arsenal in last season's showpiece.
But Alexia and her team-mates bounced back by winning eight and drawing two games this campaign, scoring 37 goals and conceding just eight en route to Oslo.
The 32-year-old captain has scored seven goals and delivered seven assists, while picking up two Player of the Match awards.
"When you care this much about your profession and the club, if the result isn't good or you don't have a good game, you really feel it.
"But it's also your job to make sure that it's only temporary, that it lasts for a few hours or a couple of days at most, because then you get another opportunity and you have to be back at 100%.
"I see it as part of preparing for the next match, something you have to use to improve, because it's happened for a reason – everything does. And there comes a point when that feeling turns into motivation."
Participating in Europe's elite women's club competition provides a unique stage Alexia relishes playing on.
"It gives you a sense of greatness. When Women's Champions League matchdays come around, you get the feeling that it's an important and big day. It doesn't matter if it's the league phase or the knockouts, it gives you the feeling that it's something special and different.
"It's like putting on your best outfit because the big day is coming – the day when all of Europe, indeed the whole world, is watching and waiting to see a great show.
"You're playing against the best players, which is always a challenge, and that's something top teams and top players always want: to try to compete against the best, because that forces you to bring out your best.
"That's really when the pressure is at its highest and you can feel it, so it's a big day for that reason too."
A 60,067 crowd packed out the Camp Nou when Alexia made her 500th Barcelona appearance in their 6-0 quarter-final second-leg victory over Real Madrid. She opened the scoring in the eighth minute as the three-time champions cruised into the semi-finals 12-2 on aggregate.
"I don't know who wrote the script for that, but thank you very much to them; it was meant to be.
"I was absolutely delighted and I think that rubbed off on my team-mates because they put themselves in my shoes, just as I would have done if it had been another one of my team-mates, and they recognised how special that day was."
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