Back and better than ever? Ballon d’Or front-runner Alexia Putellas primed to purge ACL demons with Spain three years on from Euros heartbreak

Nothing sums up just how high a level Putellas was playing at, and how much a blow that ACL injury was, than the words the player herself has used to describe it: "You go from playing at a stratospheric level to not being able to walk," she told the Guardian last week. “You get to the gym, which is at least your habitat. Then the pitch, where you think you’re progressing but frustration comes because your last memory playing was like that and now you can’t play a pass, can’t turn, can’t control. There are times you wonder [if you ever will].

“They warn you that the day you get the medical all-clear, play again, it’s still not done. You need time, adaptation, competition. Don’t think you’ll be the same - that’s just not real. You still have three, six months. You have to try to give yourself that margin, control your emotions. And right in the middle of that period is a World Cup.”

After starting just three of Spain's seven games on their way to becoming world champions, there would be further setbacks for Putellas, too. In the 2023-24 season, she underwent another knee surgery and was limited by injuries as Barca won a first-ever quadruple on the women's side. She averaged less than an hour per league appearance, playing just 19 of the team's 30 games, and could only be a sub in the Champions League final win over Lyon.

But the flashes were there. Her goal in that European showpiece, a fantastic finish to put the cherry on the cake as Barca avenged defeat to the French giants in 2022, felt like a message to the continent that Putellas was still here, she could still make a difference and she still had so much to give.

"You can see what she means to this team, to this city and this club," Keira Walsh, part of that triumph, said of Putellas' goal. "Obviously to go 2-0 up was massive, but it made it more special that it was Alexia."

Any doubts Putellas had about returning to her Ballon d'Or-worthy level, though, have been dispelled over the course of the past year. In Liga F, she racked up 16 goals and 11 assists in 24 games, with only Ewa Pajor, Barca's 25-goal striker, directly involved in more goals. In the Champions League, she scored three goals and provided four assists, particularly stepping up in the latter stages to propel the Catalans to another final. That's on top of goals and assists in the Copa de la Reina and the Supercopa de Espana, two more competitions that Barca triumphed in. In fact, across Europe's top five leagues, no one created more chances in 2024-25.

In short, it's hard to pick out many, if any, who come into Euro 2025 in better form, more capable of propelling their team to glory. "It wasn’t my knee that hurt, it was my soul," she told the Guardian, reflecting on the moment she ruptured her ACL. "You know that feeling, that sense of security when it’s like you’re capable of anything? At that moment, I felt it. And now, I’ve got that feeling once again."

It's not just at the Euros that Putellas has herself some unfinished business, either, but also just on the big stage with Spain in general. When she went to that World Cup in 2023, she had only recently come back from her ACL injury, so her game time was managed somewhat, and when she was part of the squad at last year's Olympics Games, there was a lot of controversy about the way Montse Tome used the two-time Ballon d'Or winner in what was ultimately a disappointing summer for the world champions.

When Spain were 2-0 down in the quarter-finals against Colombia, Putellas, arguably the team's best performer at the tournament, was withdrawn. Fortunately, La Roja were able to fight back, albeit only winning narrowly on penalties, and thus questions around that decision were brushed aside.

But when Tome then benched Putellas for the semi-final against Brazil, it was a huge talking point, one described as 'inexplicable' in the Spanish press. While the main issue in La Roja's rather shocking defeat to the South American champions was the defence, it was stunning that Tome waited until her side were 3-0 down to introduce Putellas.

Less surprising was the impact the midfielder made. She was easily her team's best player from that moment on, hitting the crossbar, forcing a superb save out of the goalkeeper moments later, providing the corner delivery that led to Spain’s first goal and heading the ball onto Salma Paralluelo to assist the second. Unfortunately, though, it was all in vain, as La Roja suffered a 4-2 loss that ended their hopes of Olympic gold.

Spain go into the European Championship in a similar situation to how they entered last year's Olympics. After winning the World Cup, they were the big favourites to win gold, especially with so many other national teams either unproven or in periods of transition. While their underperformance at Paris 2024 might have lowered the expectations ever so slightly this time around, the world champions remain the front-runners and will surely only be hungrier to succeed after what happened in France.

But there are frailties. The defence remains suspect, there are still questions around Tome and there are particularly noteworthy concerns over the health of Aitana Bonmati, Spain and Barcelona's second two-time Ballon d'Or winner who was admitted to hospital last week with viral meningitis. If she was to be absent, it would only increase the need for players like Putellas to step up and deliver.

But that is the sort of pressure that Putellas will be glad to welcome back. In 2023, she wasn't ready to be a key player again yet and, in 2024, she was the one Tome opted to change in order to improve fortunes on the pitch, as crazy as that sounds.

In 2025, she is the Ballon d'Or front-runner, she is one of the leaders in this Spain team and she is the kind of world-class talent that can help guide her country to a European title.

"She’s the perfect example of hard work, sacrifice and perseverance," Ona Batlle, the Spain and Barca full-back, told ARA of Putellas recently. "Despite the injuries, she always believed she could return to the top. When you keep trying, eventually you make it - especially with her quality and work ethic."

She's shown that in Catalunya, in Spain and on the Champions League stage. Now, at Euro 2025, Putellas is ready to announce to an even bigger audience that she is back and, potentially, better than ever.