England midfielder Keira Walsh has become the most expensive female footballer in history after joining Barcelona in a record £400,000 deal.
Walsh, who was in the final year of her contract at Manchester City, was a key part of the England side that achieved Euro 2022 glory in the summer. The 25-year-old played in every single match as the Lionesses stormed to glory under Sarina Wiegman.
Since then, the defensive midfielder has been the subject of multiple offers from Barcelona, with City keen to retain Walsh's services. However, the reigning Spanish champions have now finally struck a deal with the Women's Super League outfit that will see Walsh move to Spain for a world-record fee. The move has been completed ahead of the Spanish transfer deadline, which is at 11pm on Wednesday night.
The deal smashes the previous record transfer, which was set by Chelsea when they acquired the services of Pernille Harder from Wolfsburg in a deal worth in excess of £250,000 back in 2020.
Walsh, who has penned a three-year contract with Barcelona, had been at Manchester City for eight years prior to the record-breaking switch. She becomes the latest England star to move onto pastures new this summer in the aftermath of the Lionesses' historic Euro triumph.
Walsh will link up once again with Lucy Bronze, who also swapped Manchester City for Barcelona. A host of other City stars have also moved overseas; Georgia Stanway was snapped up Bayern Munich earlier this summer, while Caroline Weir was lured to Real Madrid and will come face-to-face with both Walsh and Bronze in the domestic season.
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Walsh, who won her 50th cap for the Lionesses in Tuesday night's stunning 10-0 win over Luxembourg at Stoke City's Bet365 Stadium, captured the 2016 WSL title, three FA Cups and four League Cups during her trophy-laden stint at Manchester City.
Since making her debut as a 17-year-old, Walsh has gone on to clock up 211 appearances for City; making her the club's joint all-time appearance maker alongside former Lioness Steph Houghton.
After confirming that Walsh was leaving the club to move to the Primera division giants, Manchester City released a statement on their club website which read: "Everybody at Manchester City would like to thank Keira for her contributions during her time at the Club and wish her all the best for the future."
Walsh's departure is the latest blow for City, who have lost a host of stars in the months after England's success. As well as losing Walsh, Bronze, Stanway and Weir, fellow European champions Jill Scott and Ellen White have also left the club after deciding to retire.
