​Two years ago, London City Lionesses were a second-tier, semi-professional club. Today, they have pulled off a groundbreaking signing: a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, Alexia Putellas. She has parted ways with Barcelona after 14 years and will become a Women’s Super League player from September. Leaving Catalonia for England, she steps into the role of the face of the most dominant team in women’s football, a club that has secured 10 league titles, four Champions League crowns, and a World Cup with Spain. Putellas scored 233 goals in 513 appearances for Barcelona and has earned a record 147 caps for Spain. At 32, she remains one of the game’s premier midfielders and demonstrated her enduring quality with two goals in Spain’s 4-0 World Cup qualifying victory over England in Mallorca in June, a win that sealed automatic qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
This move marks a watershed moment for the WSL. England currently sits atop UEFA’s association coefficient rankings, ahead of Spain, Germany, and France, yet the league has spent years trying to prove it can consistently attract the biggest names in world football while competing at the highest level. Putellas choosing London City is the strongest evidence yet that the league can attract a player of her caliber. The WSL has seen transformative signings in the past: Chelsea’s world-record £1.1 million signing of Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave in January 2025 made her the first female footballer to break the £1 million barrier; Arsenal’s acquisition of Alessia Russo from Manchester United in 2023 brought England’s most marketable player to north London; and Pernille Harder’s £250,000 move from Wolfsburg to Chelsea in 2020 was regarded as a watershed moment for the women’s transfer market. Putellas’ arrival takes the profile even higher and will make her the first Ballon d’Or winner to play for an English club.
For a club entering only its second WSL season, expectations typically lean toward patient development, building a squad capable of growing together and laying the groundwork for long-term success. London City’s owner, Michele Kang, seems intent on accelerating that process. The American billionaire bought the club in 2023 and has rapidly transformed it from an ambitious Championship side into one of the most talked-about projects in women’s football. The seven-figure signing of midfielder Grace Geyoro from Paris Saint-Germain signaled that London City were not content with a slow climb toward the summit of the WSL. The anticipated arrivals of former England goalkeeper Mary Earps and Mapi León, another Barcelona star, will further reinforce the squad and provide manager Eder Maestre with true star quality.
Three years ago, London City were playing in front of crowds of around 400 in Dartford, Kent, with a single-person marketing department. Last season, they averaged roughly 3,000 supporters and recorded a club-record attendance of 5,440 during their debut WSL campaign. Putellas’ arrival, coupled with the club’s ambitious strategy and already evident progress, positions London City as a genuine challenger to the established powers in English women’s football.