How Alexia Putellas bounced back from ACL heartbreak to win a deserved third Ballon d'Or

Many ardent followers of the women's game will remember the events of July 5, 2022, when the news began to filter through that Putellas had suffered an injury the day before the Euros was due to kick-off. It all unfolded in stages: there was an injury, there were scans, there were fears of the worst, then the official confirmation and, a few days later, the scenes of a rather forlorn figure watching from the sidelines, with her crutches, as Spain started their summer with a 4-1 win over Finland.

It will have been an excruciating process for fans of La Roja and Barcelona, but not least for Putellas, and the next two years would follow a similar path. The rehab was long, ruling the best player in the world out for almost 10 months, and the comeback wasn't complete just by stepping back out on the pitch.

It would take time for Putellas to feel like herself again and to get back to her physical best. It's why fans would not see too much of her stardust at the 2023 Women's World Cup, which came less than three months after her return, despite Spain's triumph. Then there would be further injuries; an operation on her meniscus came in November, which isn't uncommon after ACL tears, meaning her 2023-24 season was also impacted by a four month injury lay-off.

It's what made that moment in Bilbao, the moment Putellas described as liberating, so significant. At the time, it felt like a reminder to those on the outside of who she is and what she is capable of, with a crucial tackle on Lyon star Melchie Dumornay in the opposite box coming just before she found the back of the net.

But underneath all of that was what it did to Putellas herself, helping to set the stage for two subsequent seasons of sheer brilliance.

“Physically you can be good, but if mentally you’re not there, you’re tense, you can’t control yourself as you did," she explained in an interview with The Guardian. "It’s not that I came off the pitch that day thinking, ‘I can do it,’ so much as, ‘that’s it,’ ‘time’s come'. The cruciate, the meniscus, the whole injury, you’ve closed that cycle. Done. I felt free. And from there, I’ve felt super good."

She has looked super good, too. That summer, Putellas was Spain's best player at the Olympic Games, a sign of things to come, and during the 2024-25 campaign, she was back to her absolute best - or perhaps even better.

Scorer of 27 goals and provider of 21 assists as Barca won a domestic treble and reached the Champions League final, many believed her deserving of the Ballon d'Or last year. Instead, Aitana Bonmati came out on top to win her third Golden Ball in a competitive battle for the award, with Arsenal pair Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo also having strong cases after they inspired the Gunners to Champions League success.

"Two years later, I see it: My level is completely different, even if at the time you don’t realise," Putellas told The Guardian last year, looking back at her initial return from injury and comparing her level then to the 2024-25 season. “You know that feeling, that sense of security when it’s like you’re capable of anything? At that moment [of the ACL injury], I felt it. And now I’ve got that feeling once again."

Putellas only built on that in the 2025-26 season. Her numbers weren't as high, with 24 goals and 13 assists to show for her final campaign at Barcelona, but her trophy haul was up as she helped the Blaugrana to not only another domestic treble, but also a fourth Champions League triumph ahead of joining London City Lionesses, while she also played a key role in Spain's Nations League success.

Particularly notable was how Putellas stepped up amid injuries to key players in both squads, especially in midfield. Bonmati, winner of the last three Ballons d'Or, missed five months with a leg break, while Patri Guijarro, who finished sixth in voting for the 2025 Golden Ball, was out for three months. Putellas had to step up even more and also ensure the youngsters around her who filled those voids had the right support to thrive.

"She's a player who always tries to help other girls, to get the best out of them," Esmee Brugts, one of Barca's thriving young stars, explained. "What people see in games is that she can really be a leader, but also in training, she is always demanding at least 100 per cent from everyone, and from herself in the first place. She's really an example."

And in and amongst it all, there were the big moments. The deadlock-breaking free-kick in the Nations League semi-final against Sweden; the return of three goals and three assists across three meetings in nine days with Real Madrid; a tie-defining display against Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals; two goals against England in June which helped Spain secure automatic World Cup qualification while condemning the Lionesses to the play-off route. When the stage was big, Putellas was bigger.

But it's also about the consistency of such brilliance, the way she makes the game look so easy, with the silky footwork that leaves a defender helpless, the little pirouettes away from pressure, the quality of her passing that allows the assists to pile up and the excellence that oozes out of so many of her goals, from the nonchalant Paolo Di Canio-esque volley against Tenerife to the various instances of her calmly guiding a first-time finish into the top corner like it's automatic.

It can all be traced back to that evening in Bilbao in May 2024, when the baggage of two devastating years was lifted with one swing of Putellas' wonderful left boot. Football as a whole should be grateful for the liberation Putellas felt, allowing her to grace the game once again with her world-beating brilliance, that which makes her more than deserving of the 2026 Ballon d'Or.