Putellas out of the Champions League for first time in 15 years

The Women’s Champions League kicks off this week with a major absence: Alexia Putellas won’t be in the competition for the first time in 15 seasons, Mundo Deportivo reports. The Catalan midfielder, who this summer ended her 14-year spell at FC Barcelona to join London City Lionesses, misses out on a Champions League that, in recent years, has been closely tied to her.

Mundo Deportivo points out that Putellas debuted in European competition on 26 September 2012 after returning to Barça from Levante, and from that moment her name appeared in the tournament without interruption.

A legacy over many seasons

Her departure comes with a staggering Champions League record: four titles (2020/21, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2025/26). In the most recent one, she captained Barça to the trophy after a 4-0 win against OL Lyonnais in the final in Oslo, and she finished that campaign with seven goals.

The paper also highlights her individual output. Putellas was named Player of the Season three times in the Champions League (2020-21, 2021-22 and the latest), and the statistics underline her impact: 32 goals and 23 assists in 90 matches in Champions League play for Barça—numbers that make her the club’s top scorer in the competition and the player with the most appearances.

A new era starts

With a new format this year—18 teams in the league phase from 22 September to 16 December—the competition begins without one of its most constant figures. As Mundo Deportivo concludes, this starts a new European chapter without the player who has lifted the trophy four times and dominated the tournament for more than a decade.