"This does not end here, I will continue at Barça"

The Joan Gamper Sports City press room was packed to capacity Melanie Serrano. The Barça player announced at a press conference that she was leaving the club after 19 years of extensive and successful career as a Barça player. Nobody wanted to miss such a special day. His partner, their newborn babies, family, friends, the entire squad, the coach Jonathan Giraldez and the ‘staff’… no one was missing.

“First of all I would like to thank everyone present for being on such an important day. I have called this press conference to announce my retirement from professional women’s football after spending 18 seasons at this club. It has been a very difficult decision to make , my story has always been linked to this club. I have done a very important reflection internally and with my family. When you see that you do not contribute to the team what you want to contribute and do not help to give a necessary level of play, you begin to consider other objectives and other goals to continue helping in another way. The time has come to say goodbye to one stage and open the door to another that excites me, with new challenges and objectives. The club has proposed a new project to me in which they have with me and from the beginning I say out loud that I will leave my soul to do my best. I am a fighter, responsible, committed and faithful to my colors. In this new project I will be able to teach everything that I have learned in this house, to value every detail since today women’s football is nothing like what it was in my beginnings”, said Melanie.

“I remember a call that changed my life. Joanjo called me, I was at school and I remember a very long number and I didn’t know whether to pick it up, when they told me that Barça wanted to sign me I ran around the patio. I was lucky that my mother supported me and I was able to start this adventure. Every day I took a train for an hour and a half and then a subway to get to training on time. I couldn’t finish the session because otherwise I would miss the last train home. train late at night and share the field with four teams and wear clothes three sizes too large to have their own stadium, win a Champions League and play in a Camp Nou with 90,000 people in two games. I leave with many goals accomplished and being privileged.

By last Melanie thanked “my coaches, colleagues, family, especially my mother and grandmother for helping me fight to play a sport in which at that time it was not well seen to play because of gender equality. And especially to my life partner, Lara, for always being there and giving me the best gift, my two daughters. I would like them to know that their mother fought for equality. This does not end here. Barça is Melanie and Melanie It’s Barça”. Her words ended with a loud and long applause and with those present standing up to pay tribute to the footballer’s career.