The whys of Alexia's tears at Camp Nou

BarcelonaMinute 86. Ivana Projkovska shows the illuminated sign with the number 11. Alexia Putellas is the player chosen by Pere Romeu to leave the field. The Camp Nou begins to cheer and chant the name of the azulgrana captain —whose contract ends on June 30— while Alexia hands over the captain's armband to Patri Guijarro. However, the news is on the face of the player from Mollet del Vallès. Visibly emotional and holding back tears, Alexia leaves the field. "It has been a week in which I have had a bit of a hard time and I got emotional. The emotions I have held back all week have come out. It's not bad to show emotions," explained the player right after the match.

The main reason for these tears is frustration over the first leg at the Allianz Arena. In Munich, things did not go as planned. The 1-1 draw in the first leg did not guarantee a ticket to Oslo, the main objective of the season, and Alexia ended up with the feeling that she had not been able to help the team as much as she would have liked, according to ARA. The midfielder also had to take on a more central role in playmaking, in which she did not feel entirely comfortable. In this more withdrawn position, the Catalan footballer had to perform darker, invisible tasks to the general public. Proof of this discomfort is the conversation she had with Pere Romeu at the start of the second half.

On the return leg, the player from Mollet del Vallès was a protagonist in the game and on the scoreboard, with a brace that brought the team closer to Oslo. At the moment of being substituted, Alexia felt a great release, hence the emotion she showed, as explained to ARA. Furthermore, this newspaper has also learned that nothing has yet been decided regarding her future. The two parties still have to sit down and talk, but the captain has always conveyed her desire to continue wearing the Barça shirt, as long as she can give 200%.

Barça will play another Champions League final, their seventh. "Emotion of so much esteem, of achieving a goal we've had for a long time," Alexia added to 3Cat, who with the double against Bayern Munich has equaled César as the club's second top scorer (232 goals) only behind Leo Messi.