Putellas arrived from Levante as a teenager and leaves as one of the defining faces of Barcelona Women.
She was the leading figure in the side that lifted Barcelona’s first women’s European crown and remained central as the club grew into a serial contender. Her back-to-back Ballon d’Or triumphs also helped push Spanish women’s football onto a far bigger stage.
"We've taken the women's team further than we ever imagined," Putellas said, and that line cuts to the heart of her legacy. She represented excellence on the pitch, but also change off it.
When she added, "At the beginning, being a football player wasn't even recognised as a profession," it underlined how much of this story is about progress as well as silverware.
Her final years in Barcelona were complicated by serious leg injuries and reduced playing time, even if her class never disappeared. Reports have linked her with a move abroad, and London City Lionesses are among the clubs said to be in the conversation, but there is no confirmed destination yet.
"It's been a perfect story," Putellas said. The next chapter is far less clear - and that uncertainty may be exactly why the football world will keep watching.