Why are Barça players' eyes on England?
The economic factor, but also the competitive and social ones, the keys to the flight of players from Liga F to the Women's Super League
BarcelonaMariona Caldentey, Jana Fernández, Laia Codina, Lucía Corrales… These are just a few names of footballers who in recent years have swapped Barça for England. A phenomenon that is becoming increasingly frequent among Spanish female footballers. The conditions and opportunities in the Women’s Super League (WSL) – the name given to the English top division – are becoming increasingly attractive for players, who decide to embark on a new adventure in search of more competitive projects.
In recent days, three Barça names have again been mentioned as heading to England: Ona Batlle, Mapi León, and Alexia Putellas. In the case of the Catalan full-back, she would be close to finalizing her transfer to Arsenal, according to ESPN, where she would reunite with Mariona. In the case of the other two footballers, London City Lionesses – one of the teams looking to strengthen in the top division under the ownership of Olympique de Lyon's Michelle Kang – would have sounded out the Aragonese centre-back and the midfielder from Mollet del Vallès. However, Alexia wants to continue at Barça, as explained by Mundo Deportivo.
Money seems to be one of the main differences between the two competitions. The Catalan club is tied hand and foot by the famous financial fair play. The salaries of the women's first team affect the men's, so the azulgrana directors have to make maneuvers to fit everything into the same pot in La Liga. This allows English clubs –with much more financial freedom and economic injections behind them– to offer much more attractive salaries to the players.
However, it is not the only reason used from England to convince players. “The WSL is more competitive than the Spanish league, more clubs can win the league. In Spain, Barça is very dominant and it is no surprise that they end up lifting the championship title. In contrast, in England, although Chelsea has won several leagues in recent years, the pursuers have always stayed close, it is more difficult to win. This season, for example, it seems that Manchester City will win it”, explains Kathryn Batte, a journalist for The Daily Telegraph. The Citizens have a nine-point lead with three games left to finish the competition. “It was time to have new challenges, I wanted to prove if I was capable of performing and playing well outside of Barça”, Mariona assured in several interviews after signing for Arsenal, with whom she won the Champions League in her first season as a Gunner.
Football culture in England
Money and competitiveness aside, England's football culture is also a factor to consider. A few weeks ago, the English national team gathered more than 60,000 people at Wembley for the match against the Spanish national team.
In addition, from this season, Arsenal plays its league matches at the Emirates Stadium and Chelsea has already made it official that they will do the same at Stamford Bridge starting next season. "It will be interesting to see what the public's response is. Chelsea has had good attendance figures against big teams, but not always in some midweek Champions League matches. It will be a matter of time to grow their fanbase. Arsenal has had good attendances this year at the Emirates, but they also know how to attract more fans to the stadium," describes Batte.
A firm and committed investment in women's football that also attracts players. “Clubs have very good training facilities. Many of them train in the same place as the men's team or have their own facilities for women's. Women's football has grown a lot in England and there is an awareness to invest more and make it grow”, points out Batte.
In Europe, on the other hand, things are different. Arsenal –with two titles, 2006-07 and 2024-25– is the only English team to have won the Champions League. A competition in which German teams stand out, with up to three champions (Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg, and Potsdam), even though they haven't won any since 2014-15. “It is a very attractive league, well-structured, with good facilities and stadiums, good preparation...”, explains José Barcala about the German league. The Galician coach of Bayern Munich will face Barça this Saturday (6:15 PM) in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals at the Allianz Arena.