I thought Melanie Serrano was retired? It says so on her instagram and wikipedia page but she's apparently playing for Levante las Planas and I'm a bit confused why she would retire after playing for Barcelona all her career then sign dor a team fighting relegation😭
a few things. it's actually kind of a sad story.
first things first. melanie serrano is a barça legend and has the record for most appearances. she retired at the end of the 2021-22 season (although many including sandra riquelme below say she was pushed out). during the 2022-23 season, barça made her an offer to stay with the club and appointed her assistant coach of the u14 d girls' team.
well, we all know that barça has been going through financial issues. so for this season, they allegedly gave her a 75-80% salary reduction. in melanie's own words: "they had made me an offer, but i was so poor that if i went to barcelona to work i would lose money. it was disappointing on the part of the club for which i have given everything. i felt that [barça] was unfaithful to me. it was as if i was given a backstab. the management is unfortunate because no one deserves this. not an explanation, nor anything."
i would highly recommend this episode of "quiero ser como" with melanie where she tells her side of the story. and look, i love barça and always will but the way we have handled the departure of players in recent years has been terrible.
youtube
so last year melanie played in the queens league for xbuyer and porcinas, and then the opportunity came in february for her to sign with levante las planas, and she took it. honestly, good for her because she still can play, she doesn't have to move from the city of barcelona, and she and her wife have twins to pay for.
@FCBfemeni 📸🤩 Official photo with the president @JoanLaportaFCB, vice-president Rafael Yuste and the manager responsible for the section, @xavier_puig before the end of the 2021/22 season.