Only Leo Messi will be unattainable for Alexia Putellas

Barcelona“Alexia is Barça”. It is the summary that Irene Paredes and Patri Guijarro –two of the captains– make of Alexia Putellas. Almost 5,000 days after wearing the Barça jersey for the first time, the Mollet native will make history again. If she plays minutes this Thursday (6:45 PM) at the Camp Nou against Real Madrid, she will reach 500 games as a blaugrana. One more example of what a key player represents in the growth of the Catalan club. When Alexia debuted with Barça on August 24, 2012 –after playing for Espanyol and Levante to grow and consolidate in the First Division–, Barça had not yet played any Champions League matches, had just won its first league title –now it is on its way to the eleventh– and only had two Cups in its trophy cabinet –on May 16, it could lift the twelfth.

As if that weren't enough, Alexia can make history in double. With Sunday's goal at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium – which was Barça's 100th against Real Madrid – the captain has scored 229 goals for the blaugrana jersey and is just three goals away from equalling César Rodríguez (232) and becoming the second top scorer – counting men's and women's – for the club. Only Leo Messi will remain ahead of her, who with 672 goals seems unlikely to be rivalled by any footballer. Among Alexia's 229 goals, many are highly memorable, such as the 2-0 in the Champions League final in Bilbao to win against Olympique Lyonnais for the first time, or the one she scored against Saragossa CFF in the Queen's Cup final in June 2013, her first goal to go viral. This season, the player from Mollet del Vallès has played 40 matches and scored 21 goals, numbers that make her a favourite for the Ballon d'Or — it would be her third —, ahead of Claudia Pina, second in the ranking according to GOAL.

The best version of Alexia has coincided with the key part of the season. After the break for selections, the captain has accumulated five goals and two assists in six games, which have given her great confidence to face these two months in which she aims to repeat a historic poker with Barça, which she has only won once in her career. “She has something different, if Alexia is on the field, the team experiences it in a different way. She is just as competitive in training as when playing,” points out Pina, top scorer in Liga F with 17 goals. Once she reaches 500 duels, she will have a new challenge on the horizon: to surpass Melanie Serrano as the player with the most matches for Barça (517). This season, at most, she will be able to play ten more games, for which she would need one more season if she wants to achieve this record. In the men's team, on the other hand, she still has several names ahead of her. Víctor Valdés, with 535, is the next on a list topped by Leo Messi with 778 duels.

The invisible face of Alexia

If there is one thing the dressing room teammates agree on, it is everything Alexia Putellas brings off the field. “As captain, she is there for whatever you need and helps you without being asked,” highlights Clara Serrajordi, who will play at Camp Nou for the first time at 18 years old and can boast of sharing a dressing room and pitch with one of her role models. “She is a leader and a role model, both on and off the field,” adds Paredes, who confesses that reaching 500 games with Barça is “a marvel.”

A leadership that Alexia knows how to transmit to her teammates. “She is an emblem, you believe everything she says,” explains Cata Coll. “She always does things to ensure the team is doing well, she plays the role of captain very well, which is not easy,” remarks Graham Hansen. Alexia is becoming a player destined to make history who wants to continue breaking barriers. She was the first scorer in the history of El Clásico (then against CD Tacón, formerly Real Madrid) and the first player to score a goal at Camp Nou (5-0 against Espanyol in a match behind closed doors due to the pandemic). Nothing, however, is by chance. Her competitive hunger has led her to break down all doors. The queen wants to keep breaking down walls.