In 2017, after much back and forth negotiation, Spain centre-back Mapi Leon moved from then-league champions Atletico Madrid to runners-up Barcelona. With a year still left on her contract with the Colchoneras, Barcelona were forced to pay their league rivals €50,000 to secure Leon’s services, making her the first paid women’s transfer between two Spanish clubs.
Yet outside of the habitual migration of players from France’s capital Paris to Lyon, moves from rival teams battling for the same domestic silverware remain a rarity in the women’s game. Although there are players across Europe who are now playing for rivals of their former clubs, they have often moved indirectly. Take for example Wolfsburg midfielder Jill Roord who, rather than moving directly from Bayern Munich to their Frauen-Bundesliga title rivals, spent two seasons at Arsenal in the Women’s Super League before returning to Germany.
It’s with this in mind that eyebrows were swiftly raised when the news broke last week that Chelsea had put in a bid to sign Arsenal’s left-sided defender/attacker Katie McCabe.
