The joy of lifting all four trophies in 2025-26 has been shortlived for Barcelona’s women’s team as they face a second consecutive summer exodus.
If winning the Champions League is not enough to retain players then you have to wonder what is. Seven players have left the European champions so far with 19-year-old Renee van Asten from Ajax the only arrival.
To make matters worse some of the team’s best players are those departing with twice Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas top of that list. Fellow Spain internationals Ona Batlle, Mapi León and Salma Paralluelo have also left.
The reason? As so often when it comes to football: money. The men’s La Liga financial fair play troubles continue to disrupt the club from top to bottom. At the time of writing the women’s team have 17 senior players – two goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders and three forwards – although they are in talks to sign the Brazil forward Kerolin from Manchester City.
Putellas was the biggest loss for the club, leaving her home of 14 years for Michele Kang’s London City Lionesses in the Women’s Super League. The fact that she left on a free transfer highlighted an internal management crisis at the club. Mapi León followed her Blaugrana captain to London City, also on a free transfer, where they will be reunited with three former teammates; Jana Fernández, María Pérez and Lucía Corrales.
The WSL is a popular destination for Barcelona players with 14 of their last 19 departures joining clubs in England. Batlle signed for Arsenal, where she will join up with the former Barcelona winger Mariona Caldentey. Salma Paralluelo has yet to announce where she will be playing next season, though PSG are the favourite to sign her after negotiations with Chelsea broke down.
Those 19 departures have come since 2024 and they include academy players who have made regular appearances for the first team. At the same time there have only been two signings and two academy players who have joined the senior side. The reserve goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck arrived in July 2024, but left after one season, while Laia Aleixandri joined on a free transfer from Manchester City in June 2025.
With their pre-season training commencing on Monday 27 July the pressure is on to sign players to reinforce a squad that looks threadbare at best and dangerously thin at worst. The club have said that there will be signings – and that they will be announced soon – but whether they are seasoned pros or academy products remain to be seen.
Last season academy products Aïcha Camara and Clara Serrajordi were given first-team contracts with the club in a similar situation. In the past Barcelona have been able to promote high-quality players from within but now the problem is that key academy players are leaving as well. The goalkeeper Txell Font left for city neighbours FC Badalona, Adriana Ranera signed for Deportiva de A Coruña, Martina Fenger left for Hoffenheim and Alba Caño landed in the NWSL with Boston Legacy.
Last season some academy players did step up and arguably saved the club’s season. Serrajordi deputised in the midfield when Bonmatí or Guijarro were out and Camara played a big role in the defensive line with Batlle picking up a month-long injury. However, as the best academy players have already been given first-team contracts there are fewer options to turn to this summer. Midfielders Carla Julià (19) and Rosalía Domínguez (17) seem to be current favourites to make the jump to the first team should the club prioritise signing in-house talent.
Last season Barcelona Femení made a profit of €1.955m (£1.67m), their best financial result since the 2023-24 season. That came off the back of the Champions League prize money being increased and the team collecting all three domestic trophies. However, with some of their biggest names departing they are unlikely to match that figure in 2026-27.
Losing Batlle will have a big impact on the defence, coming as it does a year after Fridolina Rölfö joined Manchester United. Van Asten, as mentioned, has signed from Ajax and Martina Fernández looks likely to return from Everton. The forward line looks even thinner, although the coach, Pere Romeu, has a particular style of football and can utilise midfielders such as Vicky López, Kika Nazareth and Sydney Schertenleib in attack.
It feels like this team is one major injury away from imploding. They got away with it last season – in fact, they won everything they could – but for how long can this carry on? A team hoping to defend their title as European champions can’t continue to rely solely on academy products for ever.
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