Life at London City “will be different, but that’s why I’m here,” says Alexia Putellas

As a two-time Ballon d’Or Féminin winner, Alexia Putellas could have strolled into the midfield of almost any team in world football.

Instead, the former Barcelona star chose to join the ambitious London City Lionesses project, attracted by Michele Kang’s long-term vision and the prospect of testing herself in the Barclays Women’s Super League – not as part of a title-winning midfield, but as part of a squad who just secured a sixth-placed finish in their debut top-flight campaign.

Ahead of the new season, Putellas revealed why she was drawn to England and gave insight into the first few days of her life in the capital city.

The 32-year-old’s departure from Barcelona – the club where she lifted four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles – sparked intense interest from teams in England and the United States, but Putellas explained that she feels the WSL is “a very entertaining league.

“In my opinion, you never know what will be the result of the games, so it’s a very competitive league, week after week.

“It will be different, for sure, but that’s why I’m here. I’m looking to improve myself as a footballer and as a person as well,” the midfielder explained to those gathered at London City Lionesses’ pre-season media day.

The notion that Putellas – who has won almost everything there is to win as a player, with the Euros being the notable exception given England’s dominance in recent years – is still yet to reach her best is a frightening thought, but one that she is utterly convinced by.

Her mission in London is to become “a more complete player,” which she plans to achieve by “learning new things” and “just trying to find where my limits are.

“It’ll take time, because of course it is a new beginning and a big change for me, but I am so excited to be here,” she added.

There are plenty of familiar faces at the club’s Cobdown Park training facility, including ex-Barça teammates Jana Fernández, Mapi León, María Pérez and Lucía Corrales.

“I’m not going to lie,” the 32-year-old admitted when pressed as to whether they’d played a role in her decision to sign for London City, explaining that “my decision is not because of that, but when I arrived, it made my adaptation easier.”

Putellas revealed that she sought advice from them – and other former Barcelona colleagues such as Keira Walsh, Ona Batlle and Lucy Bronze, who all recently completed moves to London – before putting pen to paper.

“Some of them told me that it’s a hard league and they’re gonna kick me,” she laughed, quickly clarifying that they actually advised her to “just enjoy the league, because the games are crazy and even if you go [to an] away game, it’s like something is different, something special.

Her first conversation with Michele Kang, London City Lionesses’ billionaire owner who also has controlling stakes in OL Lyonnes and the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, “was about what the club wants [and] how ambitious the project is.

“I want to be part of that journey, bring the experience I had and of course learn as a player and make [myself] more complete.”

Settling into life in London has come with plenty of challenges for the midfielder, who has never played outside of Catalunya before. Putellas revealed that she’s spent the first weeks “looking for an apartment, looking where I have to go for shopping – just normal things that in Barcelona of course I knew, and now here everything is new.

“I already tried English breakfast. It’s quite different from Spain,” she laughed, noting that she wasn’t a fan of “the beans, but the sausages and eggs were fine!”

Putellas isn’t yet as recognisable a face in London as in Barcelona, which means the two-time Ballon d’Or Féminin winner has been able to explore her new home without being mobbed by fans desperate for selfies or vying to secure an autograph.

“That’s not happened here, and I’m really enjoying another kind of lifestyle that’s very different from Barcelona. It was nice as well in Barcelona, so it’s not that one is a good thing and one is a bad thing… it’s just different.

“I enjoy it in Barcelona as well in that sense, because I really felt the love of supporters and how they respect me, how I love them, so it’s very different from Barcelona but it’s nice too.”

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Turning her attention back to football, the Spaniard spoke of the differences she’s noticed already between life at Barça and London City Lionesses.

“It’s different but it’s what I was looking for. I came open-minded. I’m ready for whatever this journey is.

“I don’t have expectations; I just want that the hard work we are doing during this pre-season, and will do during the season, speaks for themselves. It’s a hard competition as you know.

“I have a competitive mind and I want to win every game. I don’t have expectations in this sport. In my opinion, you shouldn’t have expectations, just put the work in the bag and give everything game after game.”

Moving from a club that has experienced success at the highest level on a regular basis to a side vying to break into the European qualification spaces is bound to be a test of Putellas’ patience given her reputation as one of the world’s elite midfielders.

But she insists that “both can live together, my mentality and the moment of where the project is.

“I’m going to bring to the project whatever the project needs from me. I’m 100% committed, I’m hungry for winning, hungry for being better day after day to fight with my teammates for the victory. I’m going to try and give my best to the team and let’s see at the end of the season how good we were.”

London City Lionesses open their Barclays Women’s Super League campaign on Friday 4 September when they host Manchester United at the CopperJax Community Stadium.