Barcelona star midfielder Patri Guijarro insists she will not return to the Spain women’s national team “as things stand”, with head coach Jorge Vilda set to announce his Women's World Cup squad in less than a week.
The Spanish national team has been gripped by internal crisis following their quarter-final exit to England in last summer’s European Championships, with 15 stars, not including two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, declaring themselves unavailable for selection while Vilda remained at the helm.
Patri – player of the match in Barcelona’s Champions League final victory over Wolfsburg – was one of the ‘rebel 15’ who banded together following Euro2022 in protest of Vilda’s position, emailing the Spanish Football Federation (Rfef) and citing his management as adversely impacting their “health” and “emotional state”.
