‘They Made Us’ – Spain’s Alexia Putellas Reveals Behind Scenes Truths

Barcelona and Spain star, Alexia Putellas, has been speaking about how people don’t really know or understand what the national team has gone through over the years.

The Spanish women’s national side made history in Australia over the summer by winning their first-ever World Cup against an England side that many had seen as favourites given their Euro success 12 months prior and the embarrassment of riches on offer.

However, Spain had different ideas and showed to the rest of the world that they also had star players including Aitanna Bonmati, Putellas, Olga Carmona and Salma Paralluelo, but there was one thing that overshadowed their dazzling footballing ability and that was the disgraced Luis Rubiales.

The former Spanish football supremo was pictured kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent and also grabbing his genitals following the victory in the stands in the direction of the pitch and presumably, former coach Jorge Vilda.

Putellas Speaks Out On Historic Problems Within Spanish Football

The pair have since been dismissed by the Spanish Football Federation, however their dark legacy and how they made the female players feel still lingers and will likely never escape the thoughts of players who had to put up with their actions.

Prior to Spain’s 5-0 win against Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League, Barcelona captain Putellas had been speaking about the set-up of the Spanish FA following a strike by the players after they were forced to turn up for this latest round of international call-ups.

🗣️ Alexia Putellas

"We have been demanding to be heard for quite some time. For many decades, too many, there has been systematic discrimination against women. We have had to fight a lot to be heard, with a certain wear and tear that we don’t want to have." pic.twitter.com/ZuHjtUAfJw

— Alex Ibaceta (@alexibaceta23) September 21, 2023

“Zero tolerance for what the entire world saw,” Putellas claimed. “Zero tolerance for the things which haven’t been seen because they weren’t live and we cannot talk about them as there’s an ongoing legal procedure.

“The system failed. The Federation failed, and the country failed.

There’s Still A Long Way To Go In Women’s Football

“They made us travel six or seven hours by bus while the rival comfortably flew. We had to wake up at three in the morning to catch a plane and those schedules are not suitable for elite athletes. You have just seen this, but we have been for years in this situation.”

It was thought by a lot of people not as involved are taking a keen interest in Women’s football that the removal of Vilda and Rubiales would make everything better, but the fact that Montserrat “Montse” Tomé called up players who had voiced their intention to not play for their country until further notice shows just how little has changed and how much is rooted into the Spanish FA.

The problems run deeper than just Rubiales’ kiss in public, with players being forced to keep their doors open on international duty until someone had come in, late at night, to check on them and see what they were doing, and as Putellas said, we in the public will never know an understand the full extent of what they had to go through.