Lopez quickly caught attention at Madrid, though her route to the top was not without major obstacles.
At just 11 years old she lost her mother to a brain tumour. When her mother’s condition worsened and her father practically lived at the hospital, Mellado and her Madrid team-mates helped Lopez get to training and kept her occupied.
From there, Lopez developed at remarkable speed. In 2019, she was named most valuable player at a La Liga-organised tournament for under-12s girls’ teams after scoring seven goals, including a hat-trick in the final.
She caught the eye by scoring 60 goals in 17 matches in the 2020-21 youth league, and began her journey through the country’s junior ranks.
In September 2021, Lopez became the youngest player to feature in Spain’s top flight when she came off the bench against Athletic Bilbao, aged 15 years and 42 days.
“Of course she had the ability – I always told her so,” Mellado said.
“I also pushed her hard, because if she really wanted it, she had to always give her best and she always did. She was one of the hardest-working and she never once complained.
“She knows what she wants – that’s very important, because it makes her strive every day to achieve it.”
In 2022, perennial Spanish champions Barcelona signed Lopez on her 16th birthday, and two months later she became the youngest debutant in the club’s professional history.
She did so wearing the number 30, the same shirt worn by Lionel Messi when he broke into the Barca first team.
That season Lopez became Barcelona’s youngest-ever Champions League debutant, male or female, and the youngest player ever to score in Liga F.
If fans were not already excited by her potential, they were in October that year when she was named MVP as Spain won the U17 World Cup in India.
Lopez made her senior Spain debut in February 2024, replacing national icon Jenni Hermoso during the Nations League semi-final. At 17 years, six months, and 27 days, she become her country’s youngest debutant.
A breakout 2024-25 campaign – during which she stepped in for the ill Aitana Bonmati to help Spain reach the final of Euro 2025 – led to her winning the Kopa Trophy for the best young player in the world.
After initially being used as a winger, Lopez is now largely used in a central role for club and country despite competition from the likes of Bonmati, Patri Guijarro and her idol Alexia Putellas.
A combination of intelligence, excellent technique and athleticism allows her to both score and create – she has contributed nine goals and nine assists in 26 Liga F games this season, 16 of them as a starter.
“She’s not afraid of anything and she tries everything. And I think that’s why, even in teams with so much talent, she’s starting to earn a place in the starting line-up,” Vidal said.
“As we say in Spain, she’s one of those footballers you buy a ticket to watch, because she enjoys the game and makes you enjoy it too.
“She’s just as extroverted on the pitch as she is off it.”
