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the Barça player Alexia Putellas, The Best for the second consecutive year

BarcelonaThe reign of Alexia Putellas continues. The Barcelona captain has once again been proclaimed the best footballer in the world. The one from Mollet del Vallès has collected for the second consecutive year the trophy that accredits it as a The Best, a milestone never achieved by a female footballer. And it is that Alexia has no stopper. Collect records and milestones. Year after year, it breaks new ground. In Paris she has been crowned again, despite being seriously injured since July 5, 2022. Because Alexia, beyond an athlete, is a reference and a global icon of women’s football and the fight for professionalization of this sport.

“Good night everyone! I haven’t prepared anything. I want to start by thanking my family for this award, who couldn’t come and are at home. Also to my teammates, the coaching staff, the club. I want to remember of the people who have been with me throughout my life, thanks to them I am who I am now. I am a piece of all of them. And to all these people who have a dream: with this I hope it will be seen and reflected that yes you want it and you dream very hard, you work for it, you work the way, you can achieve it. And most importantly, enjoy the way!”

“Alexia represents something more than a player,” Xavi Puig, manager of the Blaugrana women’s team, told ARA a few hours before the gala. “Obviously, she is a great footballer and we are very lucky to have her at Barça, but for the world, and especially in this moment we are living in, she is a reference. Women need references, and boys and girls, players and players, and she is,” Puig added just before boarding the plane on his way to the French capital, where the award was presented.

Alexia is image, talent, prestige and status. In addition to being a benchmark on the playing field, Mollet del Vallès has opened a path towards the visibility of women’s sport through major brands such as Nike, Visa and Hublot. “For brands, a profile like Alexia helps a lot to build a story and a story”, analyzes Lluís Carrasco, specialist in strategic marketing and ideologue of Joan Laporta’s campaign for the presidency of Barça. “Nike signs Alexia in 2013 and makes her its queen. Names her as such. In 2017-2018 she signs for Visa and later Hublot, equating her to tennis players and golfers, sports that are considered luxury, unlike of football, which is popular. Alexia is a very princess-looking girl. Beauty is a big selling point. It’s really bad to say it, but brands care about these things,” adds the expert.

His meteoric rise on the pitch has gone hand in hand with his consolidation as a benchmark. “Unlike other athletes, male or female, Alexia is in an almost magical way, it is unanimous that Alexia is the best – explains Carrasco -. She has a very clean and universal image. She is nice because she still has that point of shyness. He does not look with pride, nor with swagger. When he scores a goal, he never makes a gesture that denotes individualism.” Another element that gives an extra to the international image of Alexia Putellas is her name: no other male or female sportsperson matches in name or surname. It is unique, like her, which further strengthens the brands’ arguments in their bet. For all this, despite the fact that he has been out of action for six months, Alexia won his second The Best this Monday. If you take into account the deadline for voting, the closure occurred when the Blaugrana had been injured for less than a month (26 days).

“They’re giving her all the awards around the world, but as a person she hasn’t changed one bit. She’s a player from head to toe and a person from head to toe. When you deal with Alexia, you’re dealing with a humble and hard worker. No one has given her anything and she has indestructible foundations”, says Xavi Puig, who accompanied her along with president Joan Laporta and some teammates to the FIFA gala. “She is always close to the fans, she never says no to a photo. It’s a pleasure to share and talk with her,” adds the manager.

Final stage of recovery

On July 5, 2022, the football world stopped dead in its tracks and all eyes were on Alexia Putellas’ knee. The Blaugrana and Spanish national team captain noticed a cramp during training the day before the opening of the European national team. It was his heyday. All eyes were on her. And suddenly her tears foreshadowed the worst. The next day the worst news was confirmed: she had torn the cruciate ligament in her right leg, the most terrifying injury in women’s sport. He had to go through the operating room of Dr. Monllau’s hand at the Dexeus in Barcelona ten days later. When she was discharged, Alexia began the long road to recovery, which she is still immersed in. Receiving The Best reinforces their desire to return.

Four Blaugranas in FIFA’s ideal eleven

Lucy Bronze, Mapi Leon, Keira Walsh and Alexia Putellas have been named as part of FIFA’s ideal eleven. The rest of the individual female awards went to the goalkeeper of the English national team Mary Earps and the coach of the European champion team, Sarina Wiegman.

As for the rest of the men’s awards, the Argentinian Emiliano Martínez, the Dibu, has won the prize for the best goalkeeper. His national coach, Lionel Scaloni, has raised the best of the best technicians.

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