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

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

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

Chelsea are away to Arsenal a round ahead, while Manchester United are away to 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 illuminating to see which WSL players make the shortlist.

Nine made it into the top 30 last August – and that doesn’t include anyone from Manchester City, for whom Khadijah Shaw, Vivienne Miadema and Yui Hasegawa stake huge claims.

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

Yet when the biggest prize is out, it’s still likely to be influenced by players elsewhere. After all, a Barcelona player has won each of the last five years

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

With Georgia Stanway, Ona Butle and even Alexia Putelas linked with a switch to England this summer, the balance could tip sooner than expected.