England midfielder joins Barcelona from Man City for world-record fee Manchester City reluctantly agreed to sell Keira Walsh after rejecting multiple offers from Barcelona this summer; the fee is officially undisclosed but it sets a new world record for a transfer in the women’s game; Walsh was in the final year of her contract and was keen on the move.
The previous world record is believed to be Pernille Harder’s £300k move to Chelsea from Wolfsburg in September 2020. However, US deals involve allocation fees and trade assets so final fees are undisclosed.
Man City are now looking at replacements for Walsh before Thursday’s WSL transfer deadline.
Walsh played a key role for England as they won Euro 2022 this summer and was named player of the match in the final as the Lionesses beat Germany at Wembley.
Since making her City debut in July 2014, the 25-year-old made 189 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals. She has 50 caps for England.
City have already lost several key players ahead of the new WSL season, with Caroline Weir joining Real Madrid, Georgia Stanway signing for Bayern Munich and Lucy Bronze moving to Barcelona.
