From Barcelona to Bromley: Inside Putellas' move to LCL

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Alexia Putellas joins London City Lionesses By Emma Sanders BBC Sport women’s football news reporter Published 30 minutes ago When Michele Kang acquired London City Lionesses in December 2023, it would have been an insane prediction to say that Alexia Putellas would join as a player two and a half years later. But here we are - one of the greatest female players of all-time and one of the world's most ambitious owners have united to create a formidable partnership. Putellas, known in Spain as 'La Reina' - the Queen - has won everything there is to win at club level and is a world champion with the national team. Her honours list is almost longer than London City Lionesses' entire summary on Wikipedia and Putellas has 44x more followers on Instagram than the club. So how has an independent club from Bromley, who were playing in the second tier in 2025, secured the biggest transfer in Women's Super League history? Why did she chose London City? Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Alexia Putellas was given a send-off celebration after Barcelona's final league match of the season Putellas was Barcelona's superstar for 14 years, helping them win an astonishing 38 major trophies, including 10 league titles and four Champions Leagues. She peaked in 2021 and 2022, earning back-to-back Ballon d'Or accolades, before an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury on the eve of Euro 2022 shook her. The midfielder recovered in time to win the World Cup with Spain in 2023 and was part of the squad that finished runners-up to England at Euro 2025. In short, she had won it all and sources say she felt it was time for a change. With her contract expiring at Barcelona, Putellas made the decision to leave and it's believed she always liked the idea of a move to the WSL. That put London City Lionesses in the driving seat and they pursued her for some time despite competition from the majority of the world's top clubs. She had offers from England, Mexico and the United States, with sources close to the player stating Boston Legacy provided the stiffest competition. However, it's believed she admired US billionaire Kang's ambitions for the women's game having been a long-standing rival to the owner's successful French club Lyon. There was a connection between Putellas and Kang, with sources close to the owner suggesting a business partnership beyond the midfielder's playing career is likely to establish and flourish. The Spaniard revealed on Wednesday the pair first met in Miami four years ago when they had dinner, and they discussed their vision for the game. Putellas' hopes were to join a club she could impact off the pitch, as well as on it, and to leave a legacy which will help grow the future of the game. She has given up the chance of playing Champions League football this season - a huge decision for someone who captained Barcelona to victory in 20