Arsenal Women have confirmed the signing of Mariona Caldentey from Barcelona Femeni on a permanent transfer.

Caldentey, 28, joins after 10 years at Barcelona during which time she won 25 trophies, including six Liga F titles, three UEFA Women’s Champions Leagues. The forward scored 114 goals in 302 games for Barcelona, and has scored 26 goals in 72 matches for Spain, who she helped win the World Cup in 2023.

“I’m so happy to be here,” said Caldentey, who will wear the number 8 for Arsenal. “This is the right time for a new challenge for me and Arsenal is the perfect place. I think what Arsenal are doing as a club is amazing – on and off the pitch. I love the way we want to play as a team and I think there’s a strong mentality building here.

“It’s been incredible to see what the club has done away from the pitch, with supporters following the team everywhere and lots of records being broken. I can’t wait to get started and help the team win trophies and entertain our supporters.”

Head coach Jonas Eidevall added: “Mariona is a world-class forward and we are delighted to bring her to Arsenal. She’s a winner with proven experience of excelling on the biggest stage, which is exactly where we aim to be at this club. We believe Mariona will be a superb addition…

Former FC Barcelona Femeni coach Jonatan Giráldez has won everything there is to win in Europe. He had one of the most talented rosters in the world too, including 2023 World Cup and Ballon d’Or winners.

So why would the 32-year-old coach leave that behind to come to the Washington Spirit?

For one, he wanted to suffer.

“For me, when you are part of an important process, in terms of building something, and when you suffer to win, that is the best moment to grow,” Giráldez said. “When you win every week, when you know it’s easy victories, that is like, ‘OK, you are suffering, but it’s not so special.’ The kind of feelings when I have to manage the situation, the important moments, when you are playing finals, a Champions League, or important games — I want to have this kind of feeling every week.”

In 2023, after winning a treble that included a Champions League title, Giráldez received an offer from the Spirit in December to be their next head coach. The team had fired previous head coach Mark Parsons after he failed to get the team into the playoffs.

Giráldez had just become a father and was looking for a new challenge. He had a renewal offer from Barcelona, who wanted him through 2026, but going to the NWSL was what he saw as that much-needed challenge….

Barcelona have completed the signing of England goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck on a free transfer.

Roebuck, 24, joins Barcelona on a two-year deal until 2026 following the expiration of her contract with Manchester City. The Athletic reported in April that Roebuck had signed an agreement to join the Spanish club in the summer.

The transfer means Roebuck becomes the Women’s Champions League holders’ third England international, joining midfielder Keira Walsh and right-back Lucy Bronze in the squad.

She will now compete with Barcelona No 1 Cata Coll and reserve keeper Gemma Font for a starting spot in goal next season.

In March, Roebuck revealed she had suffered a left occipital infarct, a type of stroke that occurs in the occipital lobe. She said she had not sustained lasting damage to her brain function or vision, adding she is “ready to give it all to get back to the thing I love most”. Barcelona were aware of the situation and have proceeded with the deal.

Roebuck has had her playing time restricted by the emergence of 19-year-old Khiara Keating. She did not play at all under manager Gareth Taylor last season, despite starting 17 out of 22 Women’s Super League games for City in 2022-23.

Speaking in May following the announcement of her exit, she said: “I’ve met so many…

The crowd outside the St. Regis hotel in downtown Washington DC had grown in the hundreds. Fans clad in Argentina’s home blue-and-white kit waited outside the team hotel of the world champions for nearly three hours, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lionel Messi. 

The flashing lights of the police patrol cars confused passersby who had no idea Messi was in town. There was yellow crime scene tape that blocked off the intersections, which further disoriented tourists. 

Andy Pendoley, 50, his wife Elaine, 48, and their two adolescent children were visiting from San Diego and had feared the worst.

“There are so many horrible things that you could come across among a crowd,” Elaine said. “It’s so exciting and such a relief to see something positive and fun that people are celebrating.” 

“We don’t mind if we can’t get to our hotel,” added Andy. “We’re on vacation. It was fun and unexpected to get a glimpse. It’s wonderful to just be in the crowd with people who are passionate about the (Argentina) team.” 

One year after his U.S. arrival with Inter Miami, Messi still garners a unique adoration in nearly every city he visits. The scenes in DC on Thursday night are a sign of what the Copa America will be like when Argentina travels throughout the East Coast as…

Alexia Putellas took a left-footed shot and after she saw the ball go in, she took off her shirt in an act that came from her soul.

She ran towards the right corner, straight towards her fans. She started screaming, venting all her rage. It was an uncharacteristic act for Putellas, who tends to play with a captain’s composure.

But she needed it. She went to the stands and bowed, evoking memories of the first Clasico that Barcelona women played at Camp Nou in front of 90,000 fans. Lucy Bronze picked up the shirt that Putellas had thrown away and showed it to the crowd.

Aitana Bonmati was the first to embrace Putellas. She had scored Barcelona’s opener in the 63rd minute, advancing past Lyon defender Vanessa Gilles after a great assist from Mariona Caldentey.

It felt fitting; the last two winners of the Ballon d’Or, Putellas and Bonmati, making the difference in the most important match in Barcelona’s history. The relationship between the two has experienced some low moments, so the fact that Bonmati was the first to hug Putellas was significant.

“Alexia and Aitana are FC Barcelona’s heritage,” Xavi Puig, the Barcelona board member in charge of the women’s team,…

Barcelona beat Lyon 2-0 in the Women’s Champions League final, roared on by 40,000 fans in the northern Spanish city of Bilbao, to complete a magnificent 2023-24 quadruple and win this competition for the third time in four years. 

Aitana Bonmati put them ahead in the 63rd minute after linking brilliantly with Mariona Caldentey, and Lyon could find no way past goalkeeper Cata Coll. Ada Hegerberg, who has only just returned from two months lost to injury, had a chance to draw Lyon level in the closing stages but the top-scoring player in tournament history could only head Selma Bacha’s excellent cross over the crossbar. And then up stepped Alexia Putellas, a 92nd-minute substitute, to put the result beyond doubt with a powerful finish from close range.

Charlotte Harpur, Michael Cox and Laia Cervello Herrero analyse the key talking points from the San Mames stadium…

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A changing of the guard?

Barcelona had never beaten Lyon, ever. This victory also means they have now won three of the past four Women’s Champions League finals. There is no denying Lyon’s dominance on the European stage, eight Champions League titles since 2011 is frankly ridiculous and pales in comparison to Barca’s total of three.

From 2016 to 2020, Lyon won five in a row but it was Barcelona who…

The Women’s Super League (WSL) season is over and, while the Champions League final is still to come on Saturday, it is time to reflect on 2023-24.

Our team of writers and analysts have been looking back at a dramatic campaign and have cast their votes in The Athletic’s end-of-season awards.

Our men’s football awards can be found here.

It’s time to reveal the winners…

Khadija Shaw reacts to being awarded with The Athletic’s WSL Player of the Season for 2023/24.#TAFCAwards | #MCFC pic.twitter.com/tWRO9fSOYW

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) May 21, 2024

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WSL Player of the Season: Khadija Shaw (Manchester City)

Runner-up for the Golden Boot by two goals last year, this time there was no stopping Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, even though she missed the final three games of the season through injury. She has yet again shown what a complete striker she is, with a variety of top-class finishes, her impressive hold-up play and aerial prowess.

GO DEEPER

Khadija Shaw: My Game In My Words

A clear focal point for Manchester City, Shaw has been clinical in front of goal and a nightmare to defend against. The Jamaica international has bettered her statistics from last year, scoring 21 times in 18 matches — a rate of 1.37 goals per 90 minutes played. Her absence might have been…

Chelsea are set to sign 19-year-old Barcelona midfielder Julia Bartel.

The teenager, whose contract expires this summer, started and played 90 minutes for Barcelona’s first team in their 4-2 win over Levante, four days after their 1-0 home Champions League semi-final defeat to Chelsea which they went onto win 2-1 on aggregate.

Although Bartel has been part of the first-team set-up, she has been a mainstay for Barcelona reserves, who play in Spain’s second tier. Having made 22 appearances and scoring four goals, Bartel helped guide her side to back-to-back league titles this season.

The Spain under-23 international has also shone on the international stage. She scored the winner in added-time in the Under-19 2022 European Championship final against

Norway and also has a 2022 Under-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2023 Under-19 European Championship gold medal to her name.

Chelsea enter the final day of the Women’s Super League season at the top of the division. They are tied with Manchester City on 52 points but have a superior goal difference (+2).

Chelsea face fifth-placed Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday, while City face seventh-placed Aston Villa at Villa Park.

It will be Emma Hayes’ last game as Chelsea manager before she departs the club to take charge of…

Alexia Putellas and Barcelona are close to an agreement over a new two-year contract with the option of a further year.

The contract is yet to be signed, but there is a good understanding between both parties over an official agreement being reached, as first reported by Spanish news outlet SPORT.

Negotiations had been on standby as Putellas focused on returning to full fitness following injury but discussions have now resumed and are ongoing.

Despite enticing offers from the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the 30-year-old’s intention was always to extend her stay at Barcelona, but she wanted to be sure of the direction of the club’s project and how much of a part she would be playing.

She has had the past 18 months disrupted by an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and then keyhole surgery to her knee, but since returning to playing regularly she has been convinced by the club’s contract proposal.

The two-time Ballon d’Or winner’s existing deal is set to expire in June and The Athletic reported in February negotiations had hit a stumbling block following a dispute over an international call-up.

In December, Barcelona tabled a contract offer to make Putellas the highest paid player in the squad and double her salary, but the club were then angered by her…

The season is rapidly approaching its conclusion and the pressure is cranking up.

At the top of the Premier League, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are locked in a gripping title race; at the other end of the table, Rob Edwards is desperate to prolong Luton Town’s top-flight fairytale at the expense of Nuno Espirito Santo and Nottingham Forest. And in the English Football League (EFL), play-off season is in full swing, complete with all its usual emotional ebbs and flows.

These are the days when reputations are forged or shattered and, while it is enthralling for fans, managers would be forgiven for regarding the whole thing with dread.

Jurgen Klopp’s announcement in January that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of this season was proof of how draining the job can be. “I cannot do it again and again and again and again,” said Klopp, who turns 57 next month.

In February, Roy Hodgson left Crystal Palace shortly after collapsing at their training ground. Although the 76-year-old’s health was not a factor in the club’s decision to end his contract three months early just a few days later, it caused understandable concern among players and staff.

It is not just in the Premier League, either.

Emma Hayes, who is leaving Chelsea Women at the…