Women’s Super League takeaways: Five questions from 2025-26

Last year, Arsenal won the Champions League but will be mere spectators when Barcelona and Lyon face off next Saturday (17:00 BST).

The Gunners reaching the semi-finals but were dispatched by the French giants in a one-sided second leg.

Chelsea went out a round before, to Arsenal, while Manchester United were seen off by Bayern Munich.

The Ballon d’Or will likely reflect this European balance.

Nominations come later in the summer but with no international tournaments this year, it will be enlightening to see which WSL players make the shortlist.

Nine made the top 30 last August – and that did not include anyone from Manchester City, for whom Khadija Shaw, Vivianne Miedema and Yui Hasegawa among others have staked huge claims.

Others such as Arsenal’s Alessia Russo and Mariona Caldentey, Chelsea’s Alyssa Thompson and Manchester United’s Jess Park have also all had exceptional seasons and may feature.

Yet when the biggest award is doled out, it is still likely to be dominated by players from elsewhere. After all, a Barcelona player has won each of the past five years

Perhaps until Champions League success becomes commonplace, the leading WSL clubs must accept second billing to Europe’s other heavyweights.

Having said that, with Georgia Stanway, Ona Batlle and even Alexia Putellas linked with switches to England this summer, the balance could flip sooner than expected.