Lyon emerges as the main suitor for a Real Madrid midfielder, hoping to sign her once she becomes a free agent.
Olympique Lyon is close to convincing Caroline Weir to leave Real Madrid as a free agent and continue her career in France, according to multiple sources who have informed ESPN.
Weir signed for the club from Manchester City in 2022 and ended her current contract in June 2026. ESPN reported a few days ago that Real Madrid feared the Scot could leave the team as a free agent after negotiations to renew her contract stalled. Now, other sources inform ESPN that Lyon is the team bidding the most to secure her services.
The agreement is not final, but one source admits that in recent weeks the French giant has made great progress in negotiations to persuade the Real Madrid star to reject the renewal with the club and continue her career in France.
Weir’s departure would be a hard blow for Real Madrid, as at 30, she has become the main star of Pau Quesada’s team alongside Linda Caicedo. The midfielder was nominated for the Women’s Ballon d’Or in 2025, is the all-time leading scorer in Real Madrid history, and stood out as a great merengue figure in the only Clasico that the white team won against Barcelona.
Olympique Lyon stands out as the most dominant club in women’s football history and has eight Champions League titles in its record. All this, thanks to great economic investment over the years. The sporting project and financial muscle would be two of the reasons for Weir’s departure from Real Madrid to Olympique Lyon.
Weir has seen the growth of Real Madrid’s women’s team from within, but the club is still far from competing for titles and on Wednesday lost 2-6 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, powerful French forward Naomie Feller is also considering leaving the club in June. Like Weir, she arrived at Real Madrid in 2022, and her stint could come to an end in 2026, given proposals from other clubs. On the other hand, as ESPN recently reported, Madrid is working in parallel to improve the squad, and one of the names on the list is Mayra Ramirez, a Chelsea forward.
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