Barca exodus continues as Salma Paralluelo seals four-year move to Lyon

Barcelona have suffered another high-profile departure from their UEFA Women’s Champions League-winning side after Salma Paralluelo completed a four-year move to Lyon.

The French club confirmed the signing of the 23-year-old Spain international on a deal that will keep her at the club until 2028, marking her first professional experience outside her home country.

Paralluelo leaves Barcelona after four seasons in which she won 14 trophies and scored 72 goals in 131 appearances, including a brace in the most recent Women’s Champions League final. She was also named Best Young Player at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which Spain went on to win.

Her exit continues a growing exodus from Barcelona’s women’s team following their latest European triumph, and comes shortly after the departure of two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, who joined London City Lionesses.

Reunion with Giraldez in Lyon

At Lyon, Paralluelo will be reunited with her former Barcelona head coach Jonatan Giraldez, who is leading what the club describes as an ambitious long-term project under owner Michele Kang.

Lyon said in a statement that they were “delighted” to add the left-sided forward to their squad, presenting her as a key component of their bid to re-establish themselves at the summit of the European game over the coming seasons.

The move also extends Kang’s growing influence in the women’s game. The American businesswoman owns both Lyon and London City Lionesses, who recently secured the signing of Putellas after her contract at Barcelona came to an end.

Barcelona now face the challenge of rebuilding after losing two of the most important players in their recent era of dominance, both of whom were central to their latest Champions League success.

Lyon strengthen European ambitions

Paralluelo’s arrival adds further star quality to a Lyon side already active in the transfer market this summer.

She joins a list of new recruits that includes Caroline Weir, Maria Luisa Grohs and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, as the club from eastern France seek to climb back to the very top of European competition.

Lyon, historically the dominant force in European women’s football, have targeted these signings as part of a broader effort to reinforce their squad and respond to the recent rise of rivals such as Barcelona.

For Paralluelo, the move represents both a reunion with a familiar coach and a fresh chapter at a club with a rich Champions League pedigree, while for Barcelona it underlines the scale of the restructuring task now facing the European champions.