Barcelona Femeni have signed Manchester City’s and England’s defender Lucy Bronze on a free transfer.
Manchester City had already announced in May that the 30-year-old would leave the club when her deal expired on 30 June.
Bronze, the FIFA Best Women’s Player of the Year for 2020, has signed a two-year contract with the Spanish club.
She is being added to a squad that only conceded 23 goals and kept 26 clean sheets last season but struggled in big games like the Women’s Champions League Final.
Barcelona’s women’s team won the domestic treble last season, winning 45 of their 47 matches all season, but lost in the Champions League final to Lyon, Bronze’s former team.
She brings a Champions League winning pedigree with her, having won the competition three times in a row with Olympique Lyonnais.
Lucy Bronze is the third recruit of the summer for Barcelona after Nuria Rabano signed from Real Sociedad while Laia Codina was given a new contract after spending last season on loan at AC Milan.
She rejoined City for a second spell in September 2020 after three successful years with Lyon, winning the women’s FA Cup and women’s League Cup after her return.
Bronze had been linked with a move to the USA with Real Madrid also showing interest in her services but she has chosen to move to Barcelona.
“I’m very happy to play for a club like FC Barcelona, one of the biggest teams in the world. I really want to start working with the team,” Bronze said.
“After a couple of conversations, you can’t say no to Barca.”
The defender is currently in training for the European Championship, which starts on 6 July in England.
