England international Lucy Bronze says Barcelona will “go down in history as one of the best teams in Europe” after defending their Women’s Champions League title.
Barcelona wrapped up a quadruple of trophies this season with a 2-0 victory over Lyon in Saturday’s final in Bilbao.
Bronze, 32, won three successive Champions League trophies with Lyon before joining Barcelona in 2022 and helping them to back-to-back crowns.
“We knew that was what we needed – to be a club that really made history,” Bronze told DAZN.
“It’s not easy. It’s hard to win it once. To do it back-to-back, Lyon showed how difficult it is and this team has finally done that.
“We go down in history as one of the best teams in Europe. All of our family will be staying around. We’ve won it all so we’ve got a lot to celebrate.”
Bronze started the match alongside England team-mate Keira Walsh, while club captain Alexia Putellas scored minutes after coming on as a late substitution.
Putellas, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament injury last year and has just signed a new contract with the club.
Her goal in stoppage time confirmed victory for Barcelona after Aitana Bonmati’s deflected strike had given them the lead.
“[Putellas is] the captain of the team, she’s the queen of Barcelona for a reason,” said Bronze.
“She’s had to work really hard to get back fit and showed why she is a back-to-back Ballon d’Or winner.
“She’s got the quality to do that in the last minute of the Champions League final when we were up against it a little bit at the end and just sealed the win for us. It was amazing.”
Walsh, who joined Barcelona for a world-record fee from Manchester City in 2022, said the team had “set out” to win four trophies and it was the perfect way to cap off manager Jonatan Giraldez’s final season at the club.
Giraldez will join American club Washington Spirit in the summer.
“It felt like a home game so to do it in front of our fans was really special,” added Walsh.
“For [Giraldez] to go out like this was amazing. These girls are special.”
On Putellas’ impact, Walsh added: “To go 2-0 up was massive and I think it made it more special that it was her. You could see what she means to this team, to this city, to this club. We’re all really happy she’s signed [a new deal]. It’s Alexia Putellas.”
