It was an open secret, but it has now become official. Mapi León and Ona Batlle will not continue at Barça next season. The Barça club –which on Tuesday announced the departure of Alexia Putellas– closes a successful cycle to make way for a great batch of youngsters who want to "conquer the world", as the Barça captain described at her farewell event. The Aragonese centre-back – who is expected to join Michele Kang's London City (owner of Olympique Lyonnais) – leaves after nine seasons, 27 titles and 313 matches with Barça, and the Vilassar de Mar full-back would return to England to Arsenal.

Wednesday was a day of many emotions for the culers. Alexia Putellas – who also had an institutional event in the morning at Camp Nou – said goodbye to the fans in the last match of the season at the Johan Cruyff stadium (with a 2-1 victory against Real Sociedad). Although it is not yet official, Marta Torrejón, Mapi León and Ona Batlle – all three starters – also experienced their last match at home. On the other hand, Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo – who also finish their contracts on June 30, but have more options to continue at the club – started the duel from the bench.

An era has ended. Alexia Putellas leaves Barça after fourteen seasons. The captain announced it this Tuesday, three days after winning their fourth Champions League in Oslo and completing a perfect season with the poker: Champions, League, Cup, and Super Cup. Through a video on her Instagram account, she explained that she is closing "a perfect story." Alexia will say goodbye this Wednesday at the Johan Cruyff, in the Barça-Real Sociedad match, the last home game for the Blaugranas in the League. Before that, at 11:00 AM, there will be an institutional event with the entire first-team squad and the Board of Directors at Camp Nou.

Today we will have new revelations about the judicial investigation into the lobbying activity of former Spanish president Zapatero, because the judge will deliver to the parties everything that is in the initiated summary. And, of course, with new revelations the pressure on Sánchez's government to step down will increase. On this front there is a significant novelty: the PNB, through its president, Aitor Esteban, said yesterday that it would be “irresponsible” for Sanchez to want to exhaust the legislature in 2027, that is to say, that in view of everything that has emerged (the Zapatero case, but also the Cerdán and Ábalos cases) it would be imprudent to want to go beyond this year.What Esteban is telling Sánchez is that he should not abuse his patience and the deadlock in which the parties that voted for the socialist president's investiture find themselves: it is unlikely that the PNB, Junts, and not to mention the so-called "plurinational lefts" will vote for Feijóo as president of the government with Vox in a motion of censure, but if corruption continues to tarnish Sánchez, it is the Spanish president who should be obliged to call early elections. After all, Sánchez came to power with a motion of censure after corruption drowned Rajoy and the PP government.As always happens in these cases, now there are voices demanding that the law better define the limits between lobbying and falling into the crime of influence peddling. And the convenience of rescuing the airline Plus Ultra during the pandemic is also reviewed in hindsight, because it was not essential for air traffic between Spain and Latin America. If it wasn't, why did they rescue it? The PSOE is crossing its fingers so that the judge hasn't found anything else and can recover the discourse of "lawfare" (a possibility that, given what we have seen in the Spanish justice system, would not be so dismissible), but everyone you talk to tells you that, at the very least, Zapatero acted very much on the edge.While the socialists are crossing their fingers that nothing else comes up, in our country, tomorrow there will be another meeting between the Government and the education unions. The teachers' strikes are more than a stone in the government's shoe, they are a boulder in the road that doesn't let it continue to move with confidence and optimism after having been able to present a budget that will be approved. We are at the end of the sports seasons, and Catalonia has lost a team in the First Football Division, Girona. After having reached the Champions League, it drops to the Second Division: the team could not withstand the departure of key players who had made a name for themselves. Not all news is bad. Two Catalans succeeding in the world: the Barça women's football team, which tonight was received in Barcelona by 10,000 people after having won the Champions League, the fourth in the Club's history, in a perfect season that includes all three Spanish titles. And wait, because Alexia Putellas, after Saturday's Champions League, could very well win the Ballon d'Or again. For the visibility of professional women's sport, the service Barça is providing is extraordinary. And Pep Guardiola, who yesterday was bid farewell at City's stadium after 10 years as its manager. The mark Guardiola has left on football can only be defined by "a before and an after"; this can be said of very few managers in history. By the way, both celebrations, that of the Barça players and that of the Santpedor coach, were united by the estelada:

“After receiving criticism all year, I hope they praise us a little now, as it's our turn. We are doing a very good job”. That’s how emphatically Cata Coll spoke after winning the Champions League final in Oslo (4-0). Barça once again touched the sky in Norway after a complicated season marked by criticism and doubts. After the triumph, it was time to celebrate. The night in Oslo was long. "We celebrated it as it should be," said the young Clara Serrajordi, from La Masia, when she arrived in Barcelona, where thousands of people were waiting on a stage on Avinguda de Maria Cristina despite the heatwave, which caused some scares among those present. This was not the case for Joan Laporta, who ended up on stage embracing Alexia Putellas while the members of the group Figa Flawas sang euphorically.

There are scripts that seem to be written. And this Champions League's could only have one winner: Barça. Pere Romeu's team – who wins the Women's Champions League in his second year in charge – regains the European crown it lost a year ago in Lisbon and now has its fourth Champions League title (4-0). The Blaugranes draw level in second place with Eintracht Frankfurt with four titles each, only behind Olympique Lyonnais, who have eight.

The images of Ewa Pajor celebrating the second goal, lifted by her teammates, with a fist in the air, will remain in the memory of Barça's women's team's fourth Champions League title. Or that of the players embracing after Salma, with two more goals, sealed the thrashing of Olympique de Lyon in the Oslo final (4-0). But the title would not be a reality without the performance of the player who was a hundred meters away, being the team's last bastion, keeping a clean sheet and holding the team together when it was going through its toughest moments.

This Saturday (6:00 PM, TV3), Barça will once again be the center of attention across Europe. For the sixth consecutive year, the blaugranes will compete in the Champions League final. It will not be just any match. Pere Romeu's team will face Jonatan Giráldez's Olympique Lyonnais, the former coach of the Catalan team. The two best teams in Europe will meet at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo. The final has been preceded by the difficulties fans –and the press– have had in reaching Norway, but UEFA has already posted the sold-out ticket sign. Thousands of culers will fill the streets of Oslo and will try to win the battle in the stands, where 28,000 people are expected. Among them, the family of Caroline Graham Hansen, who will be playing at home.

The name Rosalía often takes us to the singer from Sant Esteve Sesrovires, but at Barça there is another Rosalía who is looking to make her mark among the great stars of the first team. “It has been a very special season and, above all, one of great learning,” reviews Rosalía Domínguez (Camas, 2008), one of the jewels of the academy, to ’ARA. The Andalusian midfielder – who arrived at the Catalan club in the 2024-25 season – renewed her contract a few weeks ago until 2029. She is one of the eleven players with a reserve team contract who Pere Romeu has debuted in the first team, in addition to Sydney Schertenleib, Clara Serrajordi, Aïcha Camara, Martine Fenger, Carla Julià, Ainoa Gómez, Lúa Arufe, Adriana Ranera, Laia Martret and Maria Llorella.

Barça once again touched the sky in Oslo with a landslide victory against Olympique de Lyon to win their fourth Champions League in history (4-0). The players will celebrate this Sunday starting at 7:00 PM with all the fans. It will not be a parade like the men's team had a few weeks ago, but rather a celebration with the fans in Plaça Espanya and Avinguda Maria Cristina, as reported by ARA.

Barça is now the best team in Spain after winning the Super Cup, the League, and the Cup. One more season. The Blaugranas thrashed Atlético de Madrid (3-1) to continue expanding their state hegemony with a new Copa de la Reina, the twelfth in their record. Pere Romeu's team played a very serious match from the first moment and settled the final in the first half after goals from Claudia Pina, Esmee Brugts, and Salma Paralluelo.

Six years ago, the life of Virginia Torrecilla (Cala Millor, 1994) changed completely. At just 25 years old, and right when she had just arrived at Atlético de Madrid, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. A very big impact – even more so in the midst of the covid pandemic – for a footballer who saw how, suddenly, she lost everything.

Victory and no injuries. This would be the summary of Barça's triumph at Tenerife's ground (1-3). Esmee Brugts, Kika Nazareth, and Claudia Pina overturned Gramaglia's initial goal on the day Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas, and Aitana Bonmatí returned to the starting lineup. A subdued match from Pere Romeu's team, but one that served to add three more points to an already won and celebrated League. Tenerife were reduced to ten players by the half-hour mark, and the blaugranas – always with competitive ambition and the desire to win – did not let them off the hook.

The Johan Cruyff became the celebration point for Barcelona fans. After the tension experienced in the tie – with a happy ending – against Bayern Munich, the blaugranas were able to celebrate the League – and qualification for the Oslo final – with their people. It was a weekday afternoon and getting to the Johan with family from Barcelona was not a simple task. Whatever the case, Pere Romeu's team did not have to make great efforts to overcome a Levante (5-0) that certified their relegation to Primera Federación (second division).

Mapi León has decided not to accept Barça's reduced renewal offer and will bring an end to nine years of blaugrana on June 30, according to Rut Vilar in the Catalunya Ràdio podcast Fem Futbol and has been confirmed by this newspaper. The Aragonese center-back – an important piece in Pere Romeu's system – has already communicated the decision to the sports management led by Marc Vivés. Furthermore, according to the newspaper Sport, the footballer will go free to London City of magnate Michele Kang, who also wants to seduce Alexia Putellas. The English team already snatched Jana Fernández and Lucía Corrales from Barça – then paying a transfer fee – last summer.

Barça will play in another Champions League final again – the seventh in its history, the sixth consecutive one–. The Camp Nou filled up again with more than 60,000 people and Pere Romeu's team beat Bayern Munich (4-2) for the second time this season. The day after this historic feat, however, the spotlight has turned to Alexia Putellas. The player left the field emotional and rumors about the possibility of it being her last match at the Camp Nou have spread quickly. According to sources consulted by ARA, the explanation is that the tears were of relief after a week of great nervousness about what was at stake, nothing less than another European final. Winning the Champions League is always the team's priority objective. The captain has not yet decided her future, but she has always expressed her desire to continue if she considers herself to be at the highest level, they explain to this newspaper.

The dream of Oslo is now a reality. On May 23, Barça will play in a Champions League final again – the sixth consecutive, the seventh in the last eight years – after beating Bayern Munich at Camp Nou. Pere Romeu's team has shown that they also know how to compete bravely against great rivals and overcome adverse scenarios, which they are not accustomed to throughout the season. Goals from Salma Paralluelo, Ewa Pajor, and Alexia Putellas – with a brace – allow Barça to dream of their fourth Champions League (4-2). In the Oslo final, they will face Olympique Lyon, featuring former blaugranas Jonatan Giráldez and Ingrid Engen.

Barça will seek this Sunday against Bayern at the Camp Nou (16:30 h) their seventh Champions League final in the last eight years. A Blaugrana hegemony that began in January 2019 with the arrival of Lluís Cortés (Balaguer, 1986) to the Catalan bench. “I was arriving in Balaguer after more than an hour's drive from Barcelona when Markel Zubizarreta [then sporting director] called me, saying he wanted to speak with me urgently. I turned around and there he proposed if I was ready to take on the challenge of taking over the team. The first thing I did was speak with Fran Sánchez [the coach at the time, Cortés was the assistant], who told me to take it. I am very grateful to him”, recalls the current coach of the Saudi Arabian women's national team from Riyadh.

"Yes, we'll do the whole interview in Catalan. Of course," says Kika Nazareth (Lisbon, 2002), boldly. The Portuguese footballer doesn't lose energy or her contagious smile despite having participated in numerous events and interviews before a key match for Barça. On Sunday (4:30 PM, TV3), the azulgranas will play the second leg of the Champions semifinals against Bayern. She will play at the Camp Nou for the second time in her career and in her second season in Barcelona, a city she has fallen in love with, as well as Catalan culture and its language: "I play and live in Catalonia. I wanted to learn Catalan out of respect."