Júlia Bartel: the Future of Spanish Football
Júlia Bartel is spending the 2025/26 season on loan with Atletico Madrid from Chelsea FC Women. The young midfielder is proving herself in Spain, pushing for a spot in the Spanish National team ahead of the upcoming international break to kickstart 2026.
With experience across Europe, her journey is one of resilience and intent as she continues to become a better version of herself on and off the pitch, while impressing regularly on the footballing stage.
From La Masia to the WSL: The Rise of Júlia Bartel
In the summer of 2024, a young, Spanish midfielder made the move from FC Barcelona to Chelsea FC. After signing for Barcelona in 2019, at the age of just 15 years old, she broke through into the first team in June 2021, replacing Vicky Losada in a match against SD Eibar.
Breaking Through at Barcelona: Early Promise and Development
She then continued to play for the Barcelona B team where she gained a total of 104 appearances, 13 goals, and won back-to-back league titles in 22-23 and 23-24. Whilst playing for the B team, she also made her first start for the first team in April 2022, gaining an assist for Aitana Bonmati’s goal against Valencia CF Femenino.
A Taste of European Glory
Bartel then went on to make her UEFA Women’s Champions League debut for the Catalonia side in a 6-0 win over FC Rosengård in December 2023, becoming a part of Barcelona’s extremely successful champions league run, where they won the final 2-0 in Bilbao.
Leading Spain’s Youth Ranks
Aside from club football, Bartel has made her way through the ranks of Spanish football, captaining her country at U23 level. Although she has not reached the senior team yet, she has had a very successful international career, having won the UEFA U19 Women’s Euros in 2022, where she scored the winning goal in the 94th minute against Norway. She also helped her team win this title again in 2023, alongside the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in 2022 and getting in the UEFA Women’s U19 Euros Team of the Tournament.
Inspired by Excellence: The Aitana Bonmatí Influence
Whilst at Barcelona, she had the opportunity to train alongside her footballing idol, in an interview with Liverpool FC, she said:
“My idol in football is Aitana Bonmatí… I am very grateful that I could spend so much time in Barcelona training with her, learning certain things from her. Aitana would be the player who has influenced my game the most so far”.
This shows where Bartel’s intricate and quick style of football has developed from.
A New Challenge in the Women’s Super League
After leaving Barcelona in early summer 2024, Bartel made the move to top WSL side Chelsea signing until the summer of 2027. In the following October, she made her debut for the blues in an away UEFA Women’s Champions league fixture against FC Twente, she then went on to play one more game for Chelsea, at home to Celtic before she made the move to Liverpool on loan for the rest of the season, where she made her WSL debut in January, before returning to Chelsea that summer.
A Return to Spain with Purpose
In the summer of 2025, Bartel got sent on a season-long loan to Spanish side, Atletico Madrid for the 25/26 season. She debuted for the club on the 31st of August and since has shown her capabilities on the pitch. Her move to Atletico has given her the opportunity to further develop her skills and compete at a professional level in Liga F for one of the top teams, gaining her multitudes of experience.
Since joining the club, Bartel has made an appearance in almost all the club’s fixtures, having a major positive impact for the side. So far, she has 27 appearances to her name, and four goals for Atletico.
Knocking on the Door of La Roja
Over the last few months, we’ve seen how talented the young Spanish midfielder is and how much composure she has on the pitch, leaving many fans questioning, what is stopping her from breaking through to the Spanish senior team? With so many high-profile Spanish stars competing for a place on the international stage, it will be tough for Bartel to earn her spot in the squad.
However, she is a player to watch as she gains more and more experience playing alongside world-class players, hoping to earn that spot in the senior team soon.