Alexia Putellas, FC Barcelona star and two-time Ballon d’Or winner, stated that “professional sports are not healthy.”
The Barça forward gave an interview to Harper’s Bazaar, in which she admitted that the spectacular growth of women’s football has changed the perspective of players like herself.
Now 31, she recalled growing up in a completely different context:
“When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I never said a footballer. The profession of female footballer simply didn’t exist—I couldn’t even imagine it.”
The demands of competition are so extreme that they change one’s outlook.
“I agree 100% that elite sport is not healthy—neither mentally nor physically. Of course, there’s a very positive side, like playing in great stadiums in front of thousands of people and experiencing this profession at the highest level. But the truth is, you no longer play sport to take care of yourself or to stay healthy—it becomes your job,” she reflected.
Still, Alexia is grateful to have come through her most serious injury.
“I’m lucky to be 31 years old and now I thank God that I can get up without severe pain after the knee injury I had. I feel very good now,” she said.
Playing alongside teammates who are still teenagers also highlights generational contrasts.
“Their priorities are different. I train with girls who are 16 or 17, and they have a completely different mindset, with mental health heavily emphasized. Sometimes pushing yourself to the limit is necessary, other times it’s not. But they don’t experience it the same way my generation did. We’ll see how positive all of this is for the profession and for society, but they definitely think twice before pushing their body or mind to the limit,” she explained.
At some point, season by season, a new stage in life will arrive, though Alexia is not focused on that just yet.
“I still have such a deeply ingrained vision as a player that it’s hard for me to picture myself elsewhere, although I am building other interests alongside my career. Ideas come to mind that I try to turn into projects, and I have a couple of things going on that I can’t talk about yet. Then there’s my foundation, Fundación Eleven, which works to help hundreds of girls gain equal opportunities.”
That next chapter also connects to her personal side.
“Something I might do better than playing football? Giving love to the people around me and taking care of my relationships—with my mother, my cousin, a friend, or whoever. I’m good at caring for others. For me, the person Alexia is very important, and I’d like to think I’m good at that too, because otherwise I’d be a terrible person, and I don’t believe that’s the case,” she pointed out.
On Sonia Bermúdez being named Spain’s head coach, Alexia drew on her memories as a former teammate:
“I’ve been fortunate to play with Soni, and I have full confidence in her appointment, just as I do with all the decisions made by the national team,” she said.
She also acknowledged the pain of losing the European Championship final to England:
“It’s not about how you get back up—it’s that, on the very same day, when the match ends, you feel absolutely terrible, to put it bluntly. You feel like you’ve lost a huge opportunity, you don’t understand why it happened, and you drive yourself crazy for days until you reach a breaking point and realize you need to stop, go on holiday, and recover both mentally and physically.”
As for her colleague Sergio Ramos exploring a career as a singer, Alexia approves, though she does not see herself following the same path.
“I love music, but not for composing or singing—it’s not my strength,” she admitted. “On my playlist you’ll find everything from Beyoncé to Estopa, Rosalía, Aretha Franklin, or Juan Luis Guerra—basically every genre you can imagine,” she shared in her conversation with Harper’s Bazaar.
