Alexia Putellas aiming 'for perfection' for Barcelona against Wolfsburg in UEFA Women's Champions League final

Alexia Putellas and Lucy Bronze are hoping to go a step further with Barcelona this year and win the Champions League.

Barcelona were losing finalists last year but they have a chance to put things right when they line up against Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon.

Putellas is widely regarded as the best player in the world and is a stalwart at the club, while 31-year-old England international Bronze joined in the summer.

Speaking to the press ahead of the final, Putellas explained her ambition.

“You always have to know how to handle the pressure when you start playing for Barca,” she said. “You know what it means; you have to aim for perfection. There’s always room for improvement in sport, there’s always pressure. The defeat in Turin last year did affect us, with so many fans travelling there, but it was not to be in the end.

“I feel like that was our worst performance of the season after playing at such a high level throughout the campaign. We feel like we owe the fans a victory in the final. We will play at 100% and do everything for the team and hope this combination will bear fruit.”

With thousands of fans making the trip to Eindhoven to watch their team, Putellas added: “We know people are putting in a huge effort and spending a lot of money too and we are really grateful. Having the fans there will make a huge difference. The fans have responded to the call, they are here, and they will push us forward and help us. I can’t say that means we will win, but it’s certainly a factor that gets us closer to our target which is taking the trophy back to Barcelona.”

Bronze will be playing in her fourth Champions League final, having won a hat-trick of titles with Lyon between 2018 and 2020.

"It's something that's pretty exciting because it gives you a different motivation," she said to the BBC.

"People say 'you've won it three times', but I won it with a very different team at a different time in my career.

"I had to change teams, adapt again, get to a final again, so it is a little bit different.

"I'm as excited for this game as I was for my very first final with Lyon. I'm quite proud of the fact that I've been capable of making the final five years ago and then later on in my career I've managed to do it again.

"It's something I'm really happy about but I'm not too fussed whether it's [with] two, or three or five different teams, it doesn't matter. I just want to win the final with whichever team I'm playing for."

Wolfsburg manager Tommy Stroot believes his side can win outright, having reached the final, despite losing 5-3 on aggregate to Barcelona in last year’s semi-finals.

“We showed that we learned a lot in that one week,” said Stroot. “There were developments there from the first game. We have made steps forward this whole season.

“Before this season, I said I would like to play Barcelona in one game, in a final, because we think we can win. We have good qualities, special qualities and we have a good squad, and we want to show what we have.”