Salma Paralluelo has arrived at the elite of football to stay. She could have chosen athletics, but she decided to try to succeed with the ball on her feet. Her abilities make her a defining player who seems to have no ceiling. The Zaragoza native is working hard to bring out her full potential and her numbers with FC Barcelona and Spain are out of this world.
Two years ago, Salma Paralluelo’s life took a drastic turn. She quit athletics to dedicate herself exclusively to football after getting calls from many interested clubs and injuring her cruciate ligament. This was not an easy decision, as she was one of the most promising athletes in the national scene.
One of her greatest achievements was a bronze medal at the 2019 Spanish Indoor Track and Field Championships, thus breaking Isabel Mozún’s record as the youngest athlete to win a national medal in the senior category at the age of 15.
While she was becoming top talent in athletics, Salma continued to enjoy football. At the age of 15, she made her debut in the Second Division with Zaragoza CFF, her hometown club.
That same year, she drew the attention of Villarreal and joined their roster in the same category, where she began to quickly stand out and ended up achieving promotion to the First Division. In 2018, she became European champion with the U-17 Spanish women’s national team and in 2022 she was called up to play the Euros with the senior roster, but was unable to participate since she was injured.
She took a massive leap in her footballing career that summer, as FC Barcelona did not hesitate to go all in to sign her. Salma Paralluelo arrived at the Catalan club right after turning 18 and with a promising future ahead of her. Little by little, she adapted to Jonatan Giráldez‘s system among the best players in the world.
With lots of work, she became a starter, earning a spot in either of the wings. Taking part in the rotation helped her to grow more confident and earn minutes until becoming a starter in the ‘azulgrana’ lineup.
Her speed, great understanding of space and overwhelming physicality have become a real headache for the opponents of the ‘azulgrana’ side. The way in which Salma takes over matches is unheard of in women’s football.
Her performance in that first season made her a lock for the World Cup‘s call-up list, the championship that the Spanish national team brought home. Her contributions were essential as she scored goals against teams like Sweden or The Netherlands that allowed her country to make their way through the tournament. As a result, she would earn the award to the best young player of the World Cup. In addition, she won the Ball of Bronze after an incredible year.
She began the current season suffering from knee discomfort, but she quickly broke free from them. The only aspects that could be criticized from her first season at Barça was her finishing and boldness. This year, she seems to be having a breakout season and is scoring at will. The player born in Zaragoza is her team’s top scorer with 26 goals, 11 more than in her first season.
It is not by chance that she is recording these kind of numbers, as her maturity has come from perseverance. This year, she has played many games as a striker and has shown flashes of her goalscoring instincts. Her skills inside the box bring a lot of versatility to Barça’s offense.
A piece of advice she received from Aitana Bonmatí was to use her right foot more often, a facet of the game in which she has improved vastly. In addition to all of the previously listed achievements, she recently won the UEFA Nations League as a starter for Spain.
Salma Paralluelo is destined to become one of the best players in the world. She has everything it takes and a brilliant future ahead of her. Who would have told her that she would take part in the 2024 Paris Olympics as a footballer and not a track athlete. Barça need to take care of one of her main talents, because she will definitely get lots of offers in the future.
How high is Salma Paralluelo’s ceiling?
Translated by Nuño Alonso.
Main image: @FCBFemeni.
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