Unmasking London City's Spanish superstar

Putellas was born in a municipality of Catalonia called Mollet del Valles in the province of Barcelona, and regularly watched games at Nou Camp as a child.

Former Spain and Barcelona star Andres Iniesta was an inspiration to her, while she has also named Brazilian duo Rivaldo and Ronaldinho as players she idolised.

Putellas attended summer football camps ran by Xavi and played for local side CE Sabadell as a child.

She spent a year at La Masia, Barcelona's famous youth academy, but had to leave when her girls team was disbanded.

After spells at Espanyol and Levante, she eventually returned to Barca in 2012 - the start of an incredible 14-year career with her childhood club.

"In Spain, football is the typical sport. When I was young, [it was] not for women, but fortunately, nowadays it is," said Putellas.

"I just had the ball at my feet and I was playing all the time - in the park, in the streets, sometimes at home.

"For me, it was normal because in my house Barca games were always on the TV. I started by watching games and then suddenly, I had the ball all day."

The 32-year-old went on to win 38 trophies with Barcelona, including 10 league titles and four European cups.

She was awarded back-to-back Ballon d'Or crowns in 2021 and 2022 and is favourite to win it again this year.

Internationally, she helped Spain win the 2023 World Cup and finish runners-up at Euro 2025.

But Putellas is not done. When asked if she can still get better, she laughed and said: "Yeah, of course. Always. Day after day, I want to learn things.

"That's the way I see this job. Just keep going, never stop and be as good as I can."

She described the journey she has embarked on at London City Lionesses as one that can help her "find where my limits are" as a footballer.

Putellas is enjoying pre-season but her focus never fully switches off.

"It's all about Manchester United," she says as she looks ahead to London City's season opener on 4 September (19:00 BST).

She has given up Champions League football to join London City, an independent women's-only club in its infancy. Will she need to adapt her mindset?

"Both can live together, my mentality and the moment of the project. I'm going to bring to the project whatever it needs from me," she added.

"I'm 100% committed. I'm hungry to win, I'm hungry to be better day after day and to fight with my team-mates for the victory."

Her competitiveness shines through in every conversation.

She is handed a present - a game based on the London underground - by BBC Sport.

"Oh yes, I will play with Freya Godfrey, then I can win. I will tell her that," she jokes.

That winning mentality has never changed - but she gained a new perspective when an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury ruled her out of Euro 2022 on the eve of the tournament.

"Since the ACL injury, I enjoy everything. It's not enjoying just having fun, it's about learning something, and then I enjoy learning that thing," she added.

"I'm just a person who loves what she does. I love competition, I love football, I love training, I love to improve.

"I'm just always looking forward to better things and that's why I'm here too, because I always need to be moving as a person and a player."

Putellas is still learning the English language. She reminds journalists of that when she tries to breakdown the WSL's tactics.

"Sorry guys, I'm learning football language. This press conference maybe came early!" she jokes.

Her best friend and team mate Jana Fernandez will likely help her learn quickly, as well as several other Spaniards, including summer signing Mapi Leon from Barcelona.

But she has a better grasp of English than she realises and it is clear by the way she talks that her footballing brain is unique.

Her manager Eder Maestre says Putellas is like a secondary coach on the training pitch and has the ability to conduct the way the team plays.

"In my opinion, if I give you a pass without speaking, you have information. That's one thing I learned in Barcelona," she told the BBC.

"Maybe I am giving you that pass because I want them to receive a message like 'we go' or 'we stay.' If it's a stronger pass, it's for them to control or I want them to switch the game or whatever - it's just football language.

"Maybe I improved that in Barcelona because of the style of play. The best drills I ever trained in is about understanding what's happening in the game.

"If you understand what's happening in the game, you will get one step ahead of the opponents. When I'm training, I try to understand the way we want to play."

Putellas' fame is widespread and her grandeur was epitomised by her London City unveiling alongside billionaire owner Michele Kang in New York.

There was an emotional outpouring at her Barca departure on social media and she has 3.4m followers on Instagram.

A mural of Putellas dressed as a superhero was painted in her hometown and Nike gifted her a custom gold crown following her second Ballon d'Or victory.

"I try to not think about it, and just be like, I don't know if the word is normal, but just be me. For me, it's normal to be me," said Putellas.

She admitted walking into her first English press conference was "a little scary" and she does not generally enjoy being the centre of attention.

Her favourite part of the media day, she joked, was getting away from the cameras.

Even in the dressing room, where she is no doubt idolised by those around her, she says having former team-mates like Leon there "makes her feel more confident".

But despite the shyness, Putellas does not look out of place in the limelight. She has an obvious aura and instantly eases apprehension with humour.

In an exchange about her passing on her crown at Barcelona she quickly interjects: "No, I didn't have a crown! It's just media stuff!"

She adds: "I was just like another team-mate and so I feel like that, even if they call me 'La Reina.'

"I don't think anybody else needs to imagine 'I have a crown' and all of this because they are so good, they don't need anything from me.

"I just hope I left the team in a better position than when I started. That would make me feel so good and I enjoyed playing with them - I hope they enjoyed it as well."

Putellas' first few weeks at London City have been full of the challenges that most normal people experience - searching for a house, learning to drive in London, adapting to a new culture and developing her English.

"I have been looking for an apartment. [It's] not cheap. Well, in Barcelona, it's not cheap as well!" she said.

"Looking for where I have to go for shopping, just normal things that in Barcelona, of course, I knew. Now, here, everything is new. There's a lot of traffic here."

She has had family over to visit and has created a list of things to do in London with best friend and team-mate Fernandez.

Putellas was hoping to have dinner with England international and ex-Barcelona team-mate Keira Walsh last week but it had to be postponed.

Her friends in the WSL did give Putellas a warm welcome though...

"Well, some of them told me that it's a hard league and they're going to kick me! But no problem, I'm ready for that. No, I'm just joking...

"[They said] just enjoy the league because the games are crazy and even if you go to an away game, it's something different, something special."

Most of all, Putellas is learning to adapt to the English way of life.

She has tried a full English breakfast - but is not a fan of baked beans - and her TikTok algorithm is already throwing up typical conversational words like "innit".

"I tried an English breakfast. It's quite different from Spain. [I didn't like] the beans, but the sausages and eggs... It was fine," she joked.

"For Spanish people it's weird. Normally, we [have beans] with dinner or lunch, but not for breakfast. I don't know English culture yet!

"The weather is not bad now but I say that and people tell me, 'okay, wait for October and November.'"

But while Putellas is still adapting to life in England, it is clear she is ready to perform for London City Lionesses in September.

Her debut is likely to attract widespread attention and she hopes to embrace the occasion - after all, this is the challenge she craved.