"title": "‘If you love football, you love that Messi won a World Cup’: Alexia Putellas’ journey from teenage fan to sharing the spotlight with a Barcelona legend", "content": "
When Lionel Messi finally lifted the FIFA World Cup in Lusail on that seminal December night in 2022, the football world heaved a collective sigh of fulfillment. For Alexia Putellas, the moment was more personal. A teenage Barcelona fan who once queued with her father to catch a glimpse of the Argentine arriving at the Ciutat Esportiva, she is now his equal—a multiple Ballon d’Or winner, an icon of the Catalan club, and a global ambassador for the game. In a candid interview with FourFourTwo, published as part of the rollout for their shared Lay’s World Cup campaign, the Spain midfielder summed up the mood of millions: “If you love football, you love that Messi won a World Cup.”
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The statement is deceptively simple, yet it encapsulates a truth that transcends club loyalties and national boundaries. Putellas’ own path—from a star-struck adolescent to a fellow Barça immortal—mirrors the generational reverence Messi commands, and the two icons now find themselves united not just by a club badge, but by an advertising billboard.
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The teenage disciple who dared to dream
", "Born in Mollet del Vallès in 1994, Putellas joined Barcelona’s youth setup at a time when the men’s first team was on the cusp of the Guardiola revolution. While her male counterparts at La Masia were absorbing positional play, Putellas was falling in love with football through the magic of a diminutive left-footer from Rosario. She has often spoken of the quiet awe of watching Messi glide past defenders, a feeling she carried from the stands into her own game.
", "That burgeoning admiration hardened into professional aspiration. By the time she debuted for the senior women’s side in 2012, Messi had already collected three Ballons d’Or and was the undisputed alpha of world football. Putellas, however, was laying the foundation for her own dynasty. Her early years were defined by persistent growth: a first league title in 2013, a Champions League final appearance in 2019, and then the explosion of dominance that saw the women’s team secure a historic treble in 2021. Watching her idol break record after record only sharpened her appetite.
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A universal truth: why Messi’s Qatar coronation silenced every debate
", "When Putellas says that anyone who loves football is glad Messi won the World Cup, she is articulating a sentiment that pierced even the most partisan hearts. For years, the Brazilian Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, and Pelé had been measured against Messi through the prism of a missing international crown. In Qatar, the final piece of the puzzle snapped into place. The image of Messi clutching the trophy, bathed in golden confetti, was not merely a victory for Argentina—it was a narrative closure for a sport that had spent 20 years searching for a definitive G. O. A. T.
", "“The way he dragged that team through the tournament, the weight he carried on his shoulders—it was the most human you could feel about a superhuman athlete,” Putellas told FourFourTwo. “If you love football, you love that Messi won a World Cup.”", "
For Putellas, the moment carried an additional layer of resonance. Her own 2022 had been a cruel juxtaposition: one month after being crowned the Ballon d’Or Féminin for the second consecutive year, she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament on the eve of the European Championship in England. While Messi authored his fairy-tale in the desert, Putellas was grinding through rehabilitation in Barcelona, questioning whether she would ever return to her celestial level.
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Sharing the spotlight: the Lay’s campaign and a full-circle moment
", "Fast forward to the 2026 World Cup, and the two Barcelona legends are headlining a global Lay’s campaign together—an alignment that feels both inevitable and deeply symbolic. The commercial, which debuted during the tournament’s group stage, intercuts footage of Putellas’ surgical recovery with Messi’s World Cup heroics, before landing on a shared frame in the iconic stripes. For a player who once collected Messi Panini stickers with schoolmates, standing shoulder to shoulder with the man is the ultimate full-circle moment.
", "“I used to dream of just meeting him,” Putellas reflected. “Now we are both representing this club and this game on the biggest stage. It still feels surreal. My life has been a little crazy.”
", "The campaign does more than sell crisps. It reinforces the accelerating convergence of the men’s and women’s games in commercial terms, and Barcelona