Barcelona femeni captain Alexia Putellas was at the centre of an amusing and also adorable incident on Saturday as she was snubbed by a young Madrid CFF fan ahead of the teams' Liga Iberdrola match.
As the players walked out on to the pitch, Putellas held out her hand for one of the young mascots, but was taken by surprise when the girl refused, telling her: "I'm a Madrid fan".
The five-year-old, who is a member of Madrid CFF's 'Chupetín' team, was in tears as she protested and eventually ended up holding hands with Madrid striker Alba Mellado.
The series was caught on camera by photographer Lalu Albarrán, posted on Twitter and described as "one of the most fun (and also cutest) moments of my life in photojournalism".
Alexia: Vamos, que salimos 👋
Niña: Pero yo soy del Madrid
Alexia: 🙂
Niña: 😟 Pero es que soy del Madrid
Nota: Ha terminado con Alba Mellado y tanto Alexia como la peque me han dado uno de los momentos más divertidos (a la par que tierno) de mi vida fotoperiodística. pic.twitter.com/IYbxbr6BVE— Lalu R. Albarrán (@LaluRAlbarran)October 26, 2019
The girl, Daniela, was later interviewed alongside Madrid's Laura Teruel and said: "The Barcelona player gave me her hand to go with her, but I wanted to go with a Madrid player." And with a smile, she added: "In the end, they put me with a Madrid player."
🤣 La anécdota del fin de semana, explicada por una de sus protagonistas.
💬 Daniela (@MadridCFF) al aparato.pic.twitter.com/FYZsdd65hR— Primera Iberdrola (@PrimerIberdrola)October 28, 2019
"She tries to explain that she is a Madrid fan, but it's like they aren't taking any notice," Teruel said. And Daniela later tells Putellas: "Alexia, I'm sorry. I ask for your forgiveness."
Barca won the game 4-0 and Putellas posted to Madrid CFF on Twitter after the game. "You have very loyal fans," she wrote.
@MadridCFF tenéis una afición muy fiel 😅🙏🏽 https://t.co/jPjLCKu209
— Alexia Putellas (@alexiaps94)October 26, 2019
Barca are top of the Liga Iberdrola with 19 points from their 10 games. Madrid CFF are in 10th, with nine points.
