Alexia and 3 former rebels named in Spain's preliminary World Cup squad

Spain's preliminary World Cup squad was released on Monday, featuring the return of some of the biggest names in woman's football, suggesting a cooling off in the rift between some players and management. 

FC Barcelona's Alexia Putellas, two-time Ballon d'Or and FIFA The Best winner, is back after recovering from an ACL injury. 

But it is perhaps the return of her Barça teammates Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey, and Manchester United's Catalan defender Ona Batlle that is most eye-catching. 

Those three players were among the 15 who sent emails last September to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), demanding improvements in the organization, and requesting not to be selected for international duty until such changes were made. 

Without naming manager Jorge Vilda, who has been in charge since 2015, the subtext was clear: they wanted the manager to go. It's also been reported that the players wanted to see improvements in economic compensation, sporting structure, and travel arrangements for games and tournaments. 

Having experienced a higher level of professionalism at their clubs, FC Barcelona being chief amongst them as well as some teams in foreign leagues, many players felt it was right that the national team should see a similar raising of the professional standards. 

While Vilda remains in post, Bonmatí, Caldentey, and Batlle's return comes two months after Barcelona's Irene Paredes came back to the fold in April, playing the full 90 minutes in wins against Norway and China. 

Although Paredes was not one of the 15 players who wrote emails, she took up a sort of spokesperson role for the 15, while Spain captain, and answered questions to media regarding their demands, leading to her being dropped from the squad.

Like Paredes, Alexia Putellas was not one of the 15 to send one of the emails, but Putellas showed her solidarity with those who did by sharing the messages on her social media channels.  

However, for stars such as Mapi León, Clàudia Pina, and Champions League hero Patri Guijarro, the changes made or promised by the federation have not been enough for them to choose to join the squad. 

FC Barcelona goalkeeper Sandra Paños was another of the players who contacted the federation to say she would make herself available for selection, but manager Vilda has left her out of the squad, choosing instead to call up her substitute at Barcelona, Cata Coll, among a total of four goalkeepers in the squad. 

The FIFA Women's World Cup takes place in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 until August 20. 

Spain's final squad will be named on June 30.