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The Brazil forward Kerolin failed to report for pre-season training at Manchester City in July before her transfer to Barcelona had been agreed.
Barcelona announced their signing of the 26-year-old on Tuesday but, as of Thursday afternoon, Manchester City were yet to publish any reference to the transfer or comment on the move.
Several staff and players at Manchester City were disappointed at what were perceived to be efforts by Kerolin to force a transfer to Barcelona and that her time at the club ended on a surprisingly sour note. She did not join pre-season with the Women’s Super League champions, which began in late July, despite previously having been felt to have been on good terms with the squad.
The deal, worth an initial €1.2m (£1m), represents the largest transfer fee received by a WSL club, and it could rise with add-ons to approximately £1.25m, although this has not been officially confirmed. It is one of the largest transfer fees in women’s football.
Kerolin was part of the City side that lifted their first WSL title in a decade last season and also helped them win the Women’s FA Cup. But within weeks of those celebrations many of her City colleagues have been stunned after she did not say goodbye in-person. Kerolin’s representatives have been contacted for a response.
High-profile examples of such transfer standoffs have been seen in men’s football, but incidents in the women’s game have been comparatively rare.
City have no objections to the transfer in principle but the team were taken aback by her absence from pre-season fitness testing. For Kerolin, it is a dream move to the European champions, who beat OL Lyonnes in last season’s Women’s Champions League final.
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City and Barcelona will meet in a friendly at the Joie Stadium on 15 August as the reigning champions of England and Spain step up their pre-season preparations.
