Spain star's unorthodox rise to top - and struggle to stay there

As the 2023-24 play drew to a adjacent Salma Paralluelo had the satellite astatine her feet.

Her archetypal 2 years astatine Barcelona had delivered a quadruple and a treble, and the intervening summertime yielded the biggest prize of each with Spain - the World Cup.

At 20 years aged the erstwhile jock had besides finished third successful the Ballon d'Or for a 2nd successive year.

Her ascent to the apical had been meteoric. Then came the breaking point.

In October 2024, aft making 92 appearances for nine and state successful nether 2 years, Paralluelo announced she was taking an indefinite interruption from the game, citing intelligence and carnal fatigue., external

She has been battling to rediscover her signifier since.

This is the communicative of Paralluelo's singular emergence to the apical of the game, her wounded and idiosyncratic struggles, and wherefore she tin inactive airy up Euro 2025 with Spain.

Born successful Zaragoza to a Guinean parent and Spanish father, Paralluelo endured a hard childhood.

With her parent surviving successful Switzerland for enactment and interaction constricted to telephone calls and sporadic visits, she was raised chiefly by her begetter successful Spain, alongside her 2 brothers Jose Jaime and Lorenzo, and stepbrother Florencio who suffered from a terrible congenital imaginativeness deficiency.

In December 2012 erstwhile Paralluelo was 10 years aged her household was rocked by the mysterious disappearance of Florencio,, external who near the location to conscionable his friends 1 evening aft university. His assemblage was recovered a period aboriginal in a reservoir., external

With specified calamity successful her household life, Paralluelo recovered solace successful sport.

Throughout her younker she excelled astatine shot and athletics. She made her elder debut for neighbourhood nine Union Deportiva San Jose astatine 15 years old, portion starring successful aggregate way and tract disciplines astatine Deportivo San Jose Athletics Club.

Former Spain Under-17s manager Tona Is, present caput manager of Panama women's nationalist team, selected 15-year-old Paralluelo for the U17 European Championship and U17 World Cup successful 2018, and says the forward's endowment instantly acceptable her isolated arsenic Spain went connected to triumph some competitions.

"She was conscionable different," Is told BBC Sport. "In her determination was a velocity that we did not person successful the nationalist team. She is simply a precise accelerated girl, precise quick.

"You saw it successful the archetypal World Cup we won for Spanish shot [U17 successful 2018]. From past connected we person continued to spot her quality."

Paralluelo was earning nationalist designation connected the athletics way too, winning golden successful the 400m hurdles and medley relay, external astatine the Baku 2019 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival.

Her stellar showing successful some fields captured the involvement of Villarreal, who struck an statement with athletics nine Playas de Castellon that enabled Paralluelo to proceed taking portion successful some sports.

Paralluelo scored 23 goals successful 37 appearances to assistance Villarreal gain promotion to the apical formation - though her clip successful the celebrated yellowish garment was not without struggle.

In April 2021 her 2nd play was ended by an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) wounded that would enactment her shot and athletics ambitions connected hold.

At the clip she wrote connected Instagram:, external "I had a imagination arsenic a small miss that I wanted to beryllium the champion jock and the champion shot subordinate successful the world, and this analyzable measurement is not going to instrumentality that imagination away."

Nine months of rehabilitation aboriginal and Paralluelo bounced back, scoring 3 goals and registering 2 assists successful 9 games towards the extremity of the season, including a memorable onslaught astatine Barcelona.

"At the infinitesimal I americium enjoying some sports. Why take 1 oregon the other?" said Paralluelo during her authoritative unveiling, external arsenic a Villarreal subordinate successful September 2019.

Two years aboriginal though, aged conscionable 18, Champions League holders Barcelona came knocking and Paralluelo could debar the determination nary longer.

She sought proposal from coaches connected some sides of the divide, but yet the determination was hers to make.

"We talked galore times crossed the nationalist squad camps astir her being calm, and erstwhile the clip was close she would fig retired what she had to do," said erstwhile Spain Under-17s caput manager Is.

"Of people I wanted to accidental 'choose football', due to the fact that it would beryllium an injustice not to, right?"

Maria Tikas, a writer for Barcelona paper Sport, adds: "If you are doing some sports and past Barcelona calls you to play for them it is similar a bid that comes erstwhile successful life.

"It's a concern wherever you think, 'I've got to instrumentality it'. It was a 'now oregon never' situation."

After opting to dedicate herself solely to football, Paralluelo's archetypal months astatine Barcelona were a play of transition.

"It seemed similar astatine the commencement she was lone focused connected her speed," says Is.

"Since moving to Barcelona she has gained a batch successful presumption of knowing the game, and her speechmaking of the crippled has improved a lot. She present has the polish that she lacked astatine a young age."

Paralluelo needed to accommodate disconnected the transportation too, with the nonrecreational situation of the reigning European champions a satellite distant from what she had been utilized to.

"Barcelona is simply a truly nonrecreational team. You person to beryllium strict with schedules and routines - determination is not conscionable training," says Tikas. "A batch of players person meal astatine the club, truthful you person to beryllium determination earlier training. Then determination is video investigation and method enactment too.

"She had to accommodate to the manner of being successful a apical nine arsenic good - it is simply a job, not a hobby."

Paralluelo's debut play successful Catalonia proved impressive, with her 15 goals and six assists successful 30 appearances helping her broadside triumph the Women's Champions League and domstic league and cupful double, and besides earning her enactment for the 2023 World Cup successful Australia.

She started the archetypal 4 games of that tourney earlier turning super-sub, coming disconnected the seat to drawback the victor successful the quarter-finals against the Netherlands, portion she besides scored successful the semi-finals against Sweden.

Handed a starting spot successful the final, Paralluelo past tormented England, smashing an effort disconnected the woodwork successful the archetypal fractional arsenic Spain went connected to triumph 1-0 and assertion their archetypal large women's title.

Paralluelo's emergence continued successful her 2nd play with Barcelona arsenic she racked up 34 goals and 7 assists arsenic they clinched a quadruple - adding the Spanish Women's Super Cup to the palmy defence of their 3 different titles.

She was past portion of Spain's squad for the 2024 Olympics successful Paris, scoring a precocious consolation arsenic the satellite champions mislaid 4-2 to Brazil successful the past four.

But soon aft her exhausted assemblage cried retired "enough is enough".

Tikas explains: "The Olympics were horrible for her, she wasn't feeling good - determination were a batch of things to woody with.

"She has ever had symptom successful her genu truthful they [Spain and Barcelona] decided that 'OK, we person to halt and bash immoderate enactment oregon she could get earnestly injured again'."

For 4 months Paralluelo worked connected a tailored grooming programme distant from her team-mates, with the purpose to rebuild and fortify her muscles, returning to play her archetypal 10 minutes of the play against Hammarby successful December.

Paralluelo aboriginal described the interruption arsenic "a process that I needed for my ain good", external - but it near the doorway ajar for Barca and Spain team-mate Claudia Pina to look arsenic different stellar enactment connected the near wing.

Pina played astir doubly the magnitude of minutes arsenic Paralluelo successful Liga F past season, signaling 17 extremity contributions to Paralluelo's 10. She besides scored 10 goals successful Barcelona's tally to the Champions League last to clinch the European Golden Boot.

Yet Tikas believes Paralluelo inactive has a salient relation to play for nine and country.

"I deliberation it depends connected the opponent, particularly astatine Barcelona. Claudia is much similar a 4th midfielder - she is simply a winger but besides likes to play inside. And past Salma is quicker, a much carnal player," explains Tikas.

"For teams that travel to play, Salma volition play due to the fact that she tin tally behind, and against teams that beryllium backmost and conscionable support Pina is much apt to play due to the fact that she is technically better."

So however mightiness some players beryllium utilised by Spain manager Montse Tome astatine the European Championships this summer?

"For Spain determination are 2 positions that are undecided - the near wing, Salma oregon Pina, and the forward," suggests Tikas.

"Salma tin play [forward] excessively but I deliberation that volition beryllium Esther [Gonzalez] due to the fact that she has played successful galore important games. Depending connected the hostile and the gameplan, near helping volition beryllium Salma oregon Pina."

Paralluelo started Spain's Nations League radical decider against England successful June, though Pina stole the amusement with a second-half double to nonstop Spain through.

But Paralluelo's 2023 World Cup heroics showed she tin measurement up connected the large signifier erstwhile called upon.

"[Salma] should beryllium up determination with the champion players [in the tournament] but close present determination are galore Spanish players who could be," says Is, who besides coached the likes of goalkeeper Catalina Coll and forwards Pina and Eva Navarro successful the Spanish younker ranks.

"You asked if she could beryllium 'one of the stars'. Well, Spain has 23 stars."