Why do Barça players have their eye on England?
The economic factor, but also the competitive and social ones, the keys to the escape of players from the F League to the Women's Super League
BarcelonaMariona Caldentey, Jana Fernández, Laia Codina, Lucía Corrales… These are just some of the names of footballers who in recent years have swapped Barça for England. A phenomenon 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 once again been linked with a move to England: Ona Batlle, Mapi León and Alexia Putellas. In the case of the Catalan full-back, she is reportedly close to finalizing her signing for 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 its position in the top division with the backing of Olympique de Lyon owner Michelle Kang – has reportedly 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 fair play financial. The salaries of the first women's team affect the men's, which is why the Blaugrana directors have to make maneuvers to be able to fit everything into the same bag 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 footballers.
However, it is not the only reason they use 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. On the other hand, in England, even though 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 matchdays left to finish the competition. “It was time for 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 footballing culture is also a factor to consider. A few weeks ago, the English team gathered more than 60,000 people at Wembley for the match against the Spanish team.
In addition, from this season, Arsenal will play their league matches at the Emirates Stadium and Chelsea has already made it official that they will do the same at Stamford Bridge from next season. "It will be interesting to see what the people'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 social base. 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. “The 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 the women's team. Women's football has grown a lot in England and there is a consciousness to invest more and grow it,” points out Batte.
In Europe, however, 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 semi-finals at the Allianz Arena.