Barça women have many layers. And all are made of overcoming, effort, and successes. Barça is Aitana excited after the most difficult year of her career, but arriving in time to push the team in the final stretch. It is Cata Coll, without work under the posts for the rest of the year but appearing in Oslo with saves for the history books and leading the celebration in the locker room alongside Pina. It is Ewa Pajor finally breaking her personal curse and proving that, in her case, the sixth time was the charm. The Polish player bowed to the trophy and kissed it emotionally.
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Barça is also Salma Paralluelo, an athlete turned footballer who has rediscovered her best version. It is Patri Guijarro and her game control worthy of all individual awards and responsible for Bad Bunny playing in the locker room. It is Mapi León, with her head bandaged, giving her all for her team for the last time but as if it were the first.
There are six Barça players whose contracts end, including Alexia, Mapi León, Ona Batlle, and Salma
And it is Alexia, always sacrificing for the club of her life, whatever her future may be. The same one who sought out Xavi Llorens, her first coach at Barça, who never lost track of her and convinced her to return from Levante, to immortalize such a moment together. She also embraced her mother, Eli Segura, and her sister Alba, inseparable in every victory and fall.
And, in lean times, this Barça is also La Masia. It is Clara Serrajordi. It is Aïsha Camara. Footballers ready to show, as the champions’ shirt said, that they are the present and future of the club. The mix is irresistible: a historic and committed generation that, as promised after losing in Lisbon, completed another perfect year with a new poker for the history books.
As always, the first thing they did was think about their fans. Those who push them and accompany them no matter the European destination. There were 4,000 culés in the stands of Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo. And the players responded by unleashing uncontrollable euphoria. Also accumulated anger against those who doubted or pointed out that they had lost strength.
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Because Barça lived for months with huge absences: besides Aitana’s, they also played without Patri, Salma, or Graham, among others. All managed to return. All except Laia Aleixandri, who will not return until next season.
All in all, Barça is already the second most decorated club in the Champions, with four titles, tied with Eintracht Frankfurt and only behind Lyon’s eight. Ingrid Engen suffered this especially. The Norwegian left Barça a year ago. She wanted to be a starter and she is in Lyon. But she missed out on the Champions. She stoically endured the blue and claret celebration. Just like her coach Jonatan Giráldez, architect of Barça’s Champions in Bilbao, crying yesterday with his family. He and Engen are part of Michele Kang’s multimillion project.
The big question is how long this cycle can be sustained. There are six players whose contracts end and only Graham will renew for sure. Ona Batlle will go to Arsenal. Mapi is heading to Kang’s London City. Salma has a renewal offer at a lower rate and her silence is starting to weigh. Just like Alexia’s, tempted by the Kang universe. The mysteries will be resolved in the coming days. Also Marta Torrejón’s. In case it was the last, Alexia and Marta lifted the cup together. As Alexia said after winning in Bilbao 2024 against the no longer mighty Lyon, there is no distance.
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