Venezuelan international Deyna Castellanos has left Manchester City and signed with NWSL expansion club Bay FC, the team announced on Friday.
Castellanos has signed a contract through 2026 with an option for the 2027 season. A source told ESPN that the deal is estimated to be worth more than $1.8 million guaranteed over four years, making Castellanos the highest-paid foreign player. of the NWSL.
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The striker joined Manchester City in 2022 on a three-year deal from Atlético Madrid, where she won the 2020-21 Spanish Women's Super Cup title.
“I can't wait to be there in the [San Francisco] Bay Area,” the 24-year-old Maracay native told ESPN before her move. “With the team and obviously with the coaching staff, that's something I really want to do.”
Bay FC, the NWSL's 14th club, will debut in the upcoming 2024 season, along with the return of the previously defunct Utah Royals to the league.
“I think the project is something really amazing,” Castellanos said of the appeal of playing for a team in its first season. “Being part of the first group of girls that will try to achieve all the goals we have is something very special.”
Co-founded by investment firm Sixth Street, along with former United States women's national team players Brandi Chastain, Danielle Slaton, Leslie Osborne and Aly Wagner, Bay FC unveiled its name and brand last June.
The club announced in September that it had hired former Washington Spirit interim coach Albertin Montoya as its coach.
Castellanos said she has had brief conversations with staff about her role in the XI and hopes to be in an “ideal position” as the creative No 10.
At Manchester City, Castellanos worked her way up to becoming a starter at the end of 2022 before becoming a rotation player last year. Since her arrival in England in July 2022, she has scored five goals and registered two assists in all competitions.
“I think I've grown a lot,” Castellanos said of his time in England. “I leave with a little sadness because [of] “All the friends I made here, but other than that, I think it's an exciting time for me to come back to the United States, play for a new club and I'm happy.”
Prior to her time at Manchester City and Atlético Madrid, Castellanos made headlines as a nominee for The Best FIFA Football Awards of 2017 while playing college soccer with the Florida State Seminoles and also in the pro-am United Women's Soccer league.
“Believe [the] The United States has something special,” said Castellanos, who won an NCAA title in 2018 before finishing his college career in the United States in 2019.
“I hope it's the same thing I experienced, obviously on a different level, but the same amount of happiness I experienced when I was there. Winning trophies and continuing to grow and learn every day.”
With Bay FC, which will play home games at PayPal Park in San Jose, it also hopes to be part of a broader shift in the perception of women's soccer in the US.
“I think this team, not just me, but the club, wants to change that,” he said. “That's something that was very attractive to me when I decided to join. That's what we want, that's what I want.
“I think it's obviously going to be tough, but it's going to be amazing if we do it.”
The NWSL announced its 2024 schedule on Thursday, and Bay FC will travel to California rivals Angel City for its opening match on March 16.
