The 32-year-old went on to win 38 trophies with Barcelona, including 10 league titles and four European cups.

She was awarded back-to-back Ballon d’Or crowns in 2021 and 2022 and is favourite to win it again this year.

Internationally, she helped Spain win the 2023 World Cup and finish runners-up at Euro 2025.

But Putellas is not done. When asked if she can still get better, she laughed and said: “Yeah, of course. Always. Day after day, I want to learn things.

“That’s the way I see this job. Just keep going, never stop and be as good as I can.”

She described the journey she has embarked on at London City Lionesses as one that can help her “find where my limits are” as a footballer.

Putellas is enjoying pre-season but her focus never fully switches off.

“It’s all about Manchester United,” she says as she looks ahead to London City’s season opener on 4 September (19:00 BST).

She has given up Champions League football to join London City, an independent women’s-only club in its infancy. Will she need to adapt her mindset?

“Both can live together, my mentality and the moment of the project. I’m going to bring to the project whatever it needs from me,” she added.

“I’m 100% committed. I’m hungry to win, I’m hungry to be better day after day and to fight with my team-mates for the victory.”

Her competitiveness shines through in every conversation.

She is handed a present – a game based on the London underground – by BBC Sport.

“Oh yes, I will play with Freya Godfrey, then I can win. I will tell her that,” she jokes.

That winning mentality has never changed – but she gained a new perspective when an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury ruled her out of Euro 2022 on the eve of the tournament.

“Since the ACL injury, I enjoy everything. It’s not enjoying just having fun, it’s about learning something, and then I enjoy learning that thing,” she added.

“I’m just a person who loves what she does. I love competition, I love football, I love training, I love to improve.

“I’m just always looking forward to better things and that’s why I’m here too, because I always need to be moving as a person and a player.”

Lionel Messi missed Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup defeat by Monterrey on Saturday night after the death of his father, as his team-mates led tributes before and during the match.

Jorge Messi died on Saturday at the age of 68 following a long illness.

Jorge, who had also been the Argentina forward’s agent since he was 14, passed away in a hospital in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina.

Miami paid tribute to Messi’s father with a minute’s silence before kick-off, while players wore black armbands and Jorge’s name was displayed on the big screens at Nu Stadium.

The club added a black ribbon to their social media profile pictures, and in a statement said: “Our hearts are with our captain, Leo, and the entire Messi family.”

Messi’s Argentina team-mate Rodrigo de Paul celebrated scoring the opening goal of the 2-1 defeat by taking off his shirt to reveal Messi’s.

Fans held up handmade signs offering their support to Messi and paying tribute to his father.

Miami striker Luis Suarez, who missed the match through suspension, wrote on Instagram that Jorge will continue to watch over his son “with pride, as he always did”.

Messi’s former club Barcelona observed a moment of silence before their 1-0 friendly win against Nottingham Forest in Udine, Italy.

In 2000, Jorge accompanied his 13-year-old son to Catalonia and played a key role in persuading the club to sign him.

Barcelona thanked Jorge “for his commitment to our club, for entrusting us with the beginnings and the most glorious years of his son Leo’s football career”.

Fans left flags and flowers outside Messi’s childhood home in Rosario, while Argentine giants Boca Juniors and River Plate both held periods of silence before their matches.

The Argentine Football Association said it “deeply mourns with sadness and sorrow the passing of Jorge Messi, father of our captain and emblem, Lionel Messi”.

It added: “From here, we stand in solidarity with the entire family during this difficult time and send the most heartfelt, warm and affectionate embrace.”

Paris St-Germain, for whom Messi played between 2021 and 2023 after leaving Barcelona, said: “The club sends its full support to Leo, his family and loved ones in this painful ordeal. May he rest in peace.”

As a new season draws near, football-hungry fans around the country will be tweaking their fantasy teams, making themselves experts on rumoured transfer targets and keeping eyes keenly trained on new kit releases.

It’s an exciting time for collectors, whether they’re looking for never-before-seen designs, classic shirts reimagined or niche releases from far-flung lands to impress their colleagues at five-a-side.

BBC Sport has rounded up a non-exhaustive list of some of the best kit releases for 2026-27 so far, ordered alphabetically.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to vote for your top 10.