Spain star’s unorthodox rise to top – and struggle to stay there

Salma Paralluelo was in complete control of the 2023-24 season.

Her first two years at Barcelona had delivered a quadruple and a treble, and the intervening summer yielded the biggest prize of all with Spain – the World Cup.

The former athlete, now age 20, also placed third in the Ballon d’Or for the second time in a row.

Her ascent to the top had been a slog. Then came the breaking point.

Paralluelo announced in October 2024 that she was taking an indefinite break from the game due to mental and physical exhaustion after making 92 appearances for club and country in less than two years.

Since then, she has been battling to regain her form.

Born in Zaragoza to a Guinean mother and Spanish father, Paralluelo endured a difficult childhood.

With her mother residing in Switzerland for work and only making occasional phone calls and visits, her father in Spain raised her mostly along with her two brothers, Jose Jaime and Lorenzo, and stepbrother Florencio, who had a severe congenital vision defect.

The mysterious disappearance of Florencio, who had left the house to meet his friends one evening after graduating from college, shocked Paralluelo’s family in December 2012. His body was found a month later in a reservoir.

Paralluelo found solace in sport because her family life was so tragic.

She was an athlete and football player all her life. She made her senior debut for neighbourhood club Union Deportiva San Jose at 15 years old, while starring in multiple track and field disciplines at Deportivo San Jose Athletics Club.

Former Spain Under-17s coach Tona Is, who is now the head coach of the Panama women’s national team, chose 15-year-old Paralluelo for the 2018 U17 European Championship and U17 World Cup, citing her ability to succeed in both competitions.

Is claimed that “she was just different.” “In her there was a speed that we did not have in the national team. She moves very quickly, and very quickly.

Villarreal was drawn to her outstanding performance in both sports when she and Playas de Castellon reached an agreement with the athletics club that gave Paralluelo the right to continue playing both sports.

Paralluelo scored 23 goals in 37 appearances to help Villarreal earn promotion to the top flight – though her time in the famous yellow shirt was not without struggle.

An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that would put her football and athletics ambitions on hold in April 2021 saw the end of her second season.

She stated on Instagram at the time, “I had a dream as a young girl that I wanted to be the best athlete and soccer player in the world, and this difficult decision will not take away that dream.”

Two years later though, aged just 18, Champions League holders Barcelona came knocking and Paralluelo could avoid the decision no longer.

She sought counsel from coaches on both sides of the divide, but ultimately she had to make her own decision.

Former Spain Under-17s head coach Is, “We talked frequently throughout the national team camps about her being calm, and when the time came, she would figure out what she had to do,” he said.

” Of course I wanted to say ‘ choose football’, because it would be an injustice not to, right? “

The journalist for Barcelona newspaper Sport, Maria Tikas, says, “If Barcelona calls you to play for them once in life, it’s like a train.”

Paralluelo’s first few months at Barcelona were a transition period after choosing to dedicate herself solely to football.

“It seemed like at the start she was only focused on her speed”, says Is.

She has improved significantly since moving to Barcelona in terms of understanding the game, and her understanding of it has greatly increased. She now exhibits the same level of polish as she did when she was younger.

Paralluelo needed to adapt off the pitch too, with the professional environment of the reigning European champions a world away from what she had been used to.

Barcelona has a very professional team, according to the coach. There is not just training, Tikas says, so you have to be disciplined with your routines and schedules. “A lot of players have breakfast at the club, so you have to be there before training. Additionally, technical work is done, as well as video analysis.

She also had to adapt to the high club lifestyle because it is a job, not a hobby.

Paralluelo’s debut season in Catalonia proved impressive, with her 15 goals and six assists in 30 appearances helping her side win the Women’s Champions League and domstic league and cup double, and also earning her selection for the 2023 World Cup in Australia.

She scored in the semi-finals against Sweden and scored in the first four games of the tournament before switching to super-sub, coming off the bench to claim the victory.

In her second season with Barcelona, Paralluelo continued her rise with 34 goals and seven assists, helping them to a record-breaking 4-0 win, adding the Spanish Women’s Super Cup to their successful defense of their three previous titles.

She then scored a late consolation for Spain as they lost to Brazil in the final four of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

But soon after her exhausted body cried out” enough is enough”.

Tikas says, “The Olympics were horrible for her because she wasn’t feeling well. There were a lot of things to deal with.”

She has always experienced knee pain, so Spain and Barcelona decided to stop and take some work or she might become seriously injured once more.

For four months Paralluelo worked on a tailored training programme away from her team-mates, with the aim to rebuild and strengthen her muscles, returning to play her first 10 minutes of the season against Hammarby in December.

Later, Paralluelo described the break as “a process that I needed for my own good,” but it also gave Barca and Spain team-mate Claudia Pina another excellent option on the left.

In Liga F last year, Pina recorded 17 goals and a total of 20 minutes compared to Paralluelo. She also scored 10 goals in Barcelona’s run to the Champions League final to clinch the European Golden Boot.

Tikas still believes Paralluelo still has a significant impact on the club and nation.

“I believe it depends on the opponent, particularly in Barcelona,” she said. Claudia is more like a fourth midfielder – she is a winger but also likes to play inside. Salma becomes a quicker, more athletic player, Tikas explains.

Salma will play against teams that sit back and simply defend because she is technically better, and Salma will do so when she can run back.

So how might both players be utilised by Spain coach Montse Tome at the European Championships this summer?

Tikas notes that “for Spain, the left wing, Salma or Pina, and the forward are the two positions that are undecided.”

Because of her involvement in a number of significant games, Salma can play forward as well, but I believe Esther Gonzalez will be her choice. Depending on the opponent and the gameplan, left wing will be Salma or Pina”.

Paralluelo opened Spain’s Nations League group match against England in June, but Pina doubled to seal the victory.

However, Paralluelo’s heroics in the 2023 World Cup demonstrated that she can take the big stage when needed.

“]Salma] should be up there with the best players]in the tournament] but right now there are many Spanish players who could be”, says Is, who also coached the likes of goalkeeper Catalina Coll and forwards Pina and Eva Navarro in the Spanish youth ranks.