The reasons that have led Alexia Putellas to opt for London

BarcelonaAlexia Putellas will play next season at Michele Kang's magnate London City. The former Barcelona player - whose contract ends on June 30 - will try her luck in the English league after fourteen seasons wearing the Barça jersey. There she will meet again with Jana Fernández, Lucía Corrales, María Pérez and Mapi León, who will also make the same journey as Alexia this summer.

The 32-year-old footballer said goodbye to the Catalan fans at the end of May and closed a "perfect story" after lifting the club's fourth Champions League in Oslo.

Alexia — who at the end of the year could win her third Ballon d'Or at a ceremony that will be held, precisely, in London on October 26th — stated that she wanted to make way for the new generation of young players coming up behind her. These were the reasons given by the footballer, who stated that she had "emptied herself out".

Now, the Catalan player will experience her first adventure abroad with London City, one of the teams controlled by Michele Kang, who also owns Olympique Lyonnais. Before Barça, Alexia had worn the shirts of Levante, Espanyol, and Sabadell during her formative years.

A great project, but without competing with Barça

One of the conditions Alexia Putellas had for choosing her new destination was not having to compete against Barça, the club of her life. This already ruled out from the start big projects like Arsenal, Chelsea, PSG or Olympique de Lyon, among many other teams.

In recent weeks the balance had been tipping, until in recent days there were only two options left for the player from Mollet del Vallès: London City and Boston Legacy. The start of training in the United States —scheduled for the first week of July, as ARA has learned— meant that Alexia, who initially wanted to have time to reflect and make the best decision, had to make a decision this last week of June.

The competitiveness of the league and continuing in Europe, close to her family, are some of the reasons that have led Alexia to opt for the English team, as reported by Sport and confirmed by this newspaper.

Another of the issues that have influenced the final decision is that London City is a new club and will not be associated with any other major fanbase or stadium. Furthermore, Alexia wants to help demonstrate that a women's football-only club can also compete with big projects, can have a future, and be profitable.

All of this without ceasing to compete at the highest level to be able to reach the World Cup in Brazil next summer in the best possible conditions.