Alexia Putellas Targets Third Ballon d’Or & Euro Crown

Alexia Putellas starts the 2024-25 season with two clear missions: reclaim the Ballon d’Or Féminin and steer Spain to Euro 2025 glory in Switzerland. Her extraordinary comeback from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament has already become part of football folklore, yet the Barcelona icon insists her best chapter is still being written.

Alexia Putellas eyes history after brutal injury lay-off

In July 2022, Alexia Putellas tore her ACL on the eve of the last European Championship, an injury cruelly robbing her of the chance to shine on England’s stage. Four surgeries, 11 months of rehabilitation and countless lonely gym sessions later, she walked back onto the pitch at Estadi Olímpic to a standing ovation. “I felt like a debutant again,” she later admitted. That single step triggered a season in which she tallied 17 goals, 11 assists and one league-winning strike in the 92nd minute against Atlético Madrid.

The Ballon d’Or Féminin race is wide open

Two years of dominance by teammate Aitana Bonmatí have raised the performance bar, but Alexia Putellas believes the door to a record-breaking third Golden Ball is ajar. “Individual awards are never my obsession,” she says, “but they acknowledge the sacrifices behind closed doors.” With Champions League nights looming against Chelsea, Lyon and perhaps another final in Bilbao, Putellas knows that big-game performances will decide the voting panel’s hearts.

Euro 2025: unfinished business for Alexia Putellas

Spain’s triumph at the 2023 World Cup and their Nations League title in 2024 were landmark trophies, yet neither erased the pain of missing Euro 2022. Captain Irene Paredes calls her teammate “our metronome,” and coach Montse Tomé has already built a midfield triangle designed to maximise Putellas’ vision between the lines. Switzerland’s compact stadiums are expected to favour Spain’s possession game—an ideal canvas for the Catalan artist.

Catalan roots, global influence

Born in Mollet del Vallès and nurtured in La Masia, Alexia Putellas embodies Barcelona’s footballing philosophy: dominate the ball, dictate tempo, attack space. Off the pitch, she has become a global ambassador for equality, using her platform to demand better pay, scheduling and medical resources for women’s football. Nike’s “Play Until She’s Heard” campaign, fronted by Putellas, reached 42 million viewers in 2024 alone. Her voice, much like her left foot, carries weight.

Stat pack: the numbers behind the narrative

• Career goals for Barcelona: 211 in 449 appearances
• International caps: 128, with 37 goals
• Major titles: 3 Champions Leagues, 8 Liga F titles, 1 World Cup, 1 Nations League
• Pass completion in 2024-25 Liga F: 91%
• Distance covered per 90 minutes since return: 10.4 km

How Alexia Putellas adapted her game post-ACL

Medical staff warned that explosiveness can wane after a severe knee injury, so Alexia Putellas adjusted by refining her positional sense. She now releases the ball one touch earlier, demands inverted runs from wingers to stretch back-lines and arrives late in the box rather than bursting through it. Teammate Salma Paralluelo calls her “the GPS for us youngsters.” Analytics from StatsBomb show Putellas has increased progressive passes by 13% while slightly reducing dribbles—proof that intelligence can offset lost milliseconds of speed.

Competition for the crown

Aitana Bonmatí remains the bookies’ favourite for a third successive Ballon d’Or Féminin, while Patri Guijarro, Chelsea’s Sam Kerr and Lyon’s Ada Hegerberg all lurk. Yet voting fatigue often nudges pundits toward fresh storylines, and few narratives are stronger than a legend reclaiming her throne after adversity. If Barcelona retain the Champions League and Spain lift Euro 2025 with Putellas pulling strings, her historic hat-trick could feel inevitable.

Legacy beyond trophies

Winning a third Ballon d’Or Féminin would place Alexia Putellas in an exclusive club with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players—male or female—to win football’s top individual accolade three times consecutively. More importantly, it would inspire a generation of injured athletes wrestling with doubt. “She showed us that patience can be powerful,” says Spain U-17 midfielder Vicky López, who watched every rehab update on Instagram.

Opinion: why this might be Putellas’ defining season

Great players measure themselves against moments of maximum pressure. For Alexia Putellas, 2024-25 offers two: the Champions League final in Bilbao and the Euro 2025 knockout rounds in Basel. Achieve glory in both and the Ballon d’Or Féminin should follow naturally. But even if individual honours slip away, her influence on and off the pitch already transcends silverware. In 20 years, young fans may remember the goals, but they will remember her resilience more.

Short verdict: Expect Alexia Putellas to enter Euro 2025 in peak condition, drive Spain deep into the tournament and—provided Barcelona’s season holds up—mount the strongest Ballon d’Or Féminin campaign of her career. The stage is set; now it’s down to her familiar blend of vision, leadership and left-footed magic.