USA captain Carli Lloyd, who was recently named FIFA Player of the Year after her heroics at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, has joined Manchester City on a short term deal. She scored a hat trick in the final, which lead to USA winning the tournament after a 16-year wait.
Also read: Champions League results
The 34-year-old, who also won gold at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012, will remain with Manchester City until the end of the spring series and will play in the FA Women's Cup and Women's Champions League campaign.
Coached by Nick Cushing, Manchester City won the Super League title unbeaten last season and is now targeting silver wear in Europe as well. That is one of the main reasons they decided to sign Lloyd.
Manchester City have already progressed to the quarter finals of the women's Champions League, where they will face Danish club Fortuna in March and it is expected that Lloyd will return to her former club Houston Dash once this season is over.
Nick Cushing stated that they are all looking forward to working with Carli Lloyd and having been recognised as the best player in the world his team can learn a lot from her in the coming months.
"We are a successful team but a young team too, having only entered the Women's Super League three years ago, so adding players to our squad with substantial experience is crucial to our development. Carli has had an incredible career and is recognised as one of the best in the world. There is much we can learn from her that will help us to improve as a team. We are all looking forward to working with her over the coming months" Daily Mail quoted Cushing as saying.
Meanwhile, Carli Lloyd is really excited about the challenges she is going to face at Manchester City saying it's good that they are developing women's football. She also said she is relishing the challenge of playing in the Champions League and is desperate to get the Manchester City shirt on.
"I'm incredibly excited to be joining Manchester City, a Club which is leading the development of women's football both on and off the pitch. Having played in the US throughout my career, the chance to fulfill a long held ambition to test myself in a new footballing environment, as well as playing in the Champions League, is something I am relishing."
"With the challenge of the Spring Series and the FA Women's Cup ahead of us too, I really can't wait to pull on my City shirt in front of our fans and make them proud" Daily Mail quoted Lloyd as saying.
