Ingrid Engen and Mapi Leon put feelings aside for Champions League final | OneFootball

Lyon’s Ingrid Engen and Barcelona’s Mapi Leon, partners off the pitch and former team-mates, say there will be no favours when their sides meet in Saturday’s Women’s Champions League final at 18:00.

Engen, 28, joined Lyon at the start of the season after four years with Barcelona from 2021 to 2025, and is preparing for a fifth final, following one with Wolfsburg and three for Barça. According to L'Équipe, Leon stayed on this season but is expected to leave in the summer, not necessarily for Lyon despite visits during the campaign, with London City Lionesses from Michele Kang’s group viewed as an option.

Earlier this week she cut a relaxed figure in the visitors’ dressing room at Groupama Stadium. The Norway international said playing in her homeland, in a stadium the national team usually uses, was special, with family and friends set to attend under a white dress code. She also reflected on the season-long push to reach the final.

The couple posted a video last week setting ground rules for the build-up. They have avoided football chat in recent weeks, neither intends to show mercy, and both expect a fierce contest as they become total enemies for the night.

Engen added that they cannot discuss tactics, availability or likely line-ups, and that both accept this naturally. As the final nears, she said, the desire to win takes over and emotions are parked.

Off the pitch, Engen and Leon are prominent LGBT figures, with Barcelona’s women’s side seen by many fans as a standard-bearer. Before any decisions about the future, they have a final to win and have promised to keep sentimentality at bay for at least 90 minutes.

Source: L'Équipe