Catarina Macario has a “strong chance” of leaving Olympique Lyonnais this summer, ATA Football reported Monday.
The U.S. women’s national team star joined the French club in 2021 on a 2.5-year deal, which will expire in summer 2023. Several top European clubs have expressed interest in signing the 23-year-old midfielder, including Spain’s FC Barcelona and Germany’s FC Bayern Munich.
Catarina Macario has a "strong chance" of leaving Lyon this summer, per @RJPJournalism & @atafball Negotiations are currently halted, but Barcelona and Bayern previously showed strong interest. pic.twitter.com/5UBbSYmpdC— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) December 19, 2022
Catarina Macario has a "strong chance" of leaving Lyon this summer, per @RJPJournalism & @atafball Negotiations are currently halted, but Barcelona and Bayern previously showed strong interest. pic.twitter.com/5UBbSYmpdC
Contract talks with Lyon were put on pause as U.S. businessman John Textor took ownership, ATA Football reported, but the team plans to make its own bid to retain the star.
Macario helped lead Lyon to the Champions League title in May, scoring nine goals throughout the competition and one in the final against Barcelona. But she was sidelined by an ACL tear in June in a league match that held no stakes — Lyon already had clinched the Division 1 Féminine title.
As a result of the injury, she missed the USWNT’s Concacaf W Championship title run, and the team missed her during a three-match losing streak late in the year. She is slated to return in February, coach Vlatko Andonovski said in October.
“Obviously, if I can start playing some games and be 100 percent for the Champions League at the end of March,” that would be the best-case scenario, Macario said in October. “I would like to start ramping it up in February and March and just go from there and hope for the best.”