Chelsea, NWSL big spenders, or a shock move to Real Madrid – where could Lioness Lucy Bronze go next?

Lioness Lucy Bronze is set to leave Barcelona on a free after two years with the Spanish giants

She joined from Manchester City in 2022 and won seven out of a possible eight trophies with the club, including two Champions Leagues and two Liga F titles.

It was rumoured that a new contract with the club was placed on the table.

However, it is believed it would have involved a substantial pay cut due to the financial issues at the club.

Meanwhile the right-back, one of the highest-paid players at Barcelona Femini, is also believed to have wanted a bigger role.

The 32-year-old will be highly sought after and having won five Champions League trophies in her career and multiple league titles in England, France and Spain.

It is no wonder that every football fan and club wants her to play for them.

But who could Bronze sign for as he leaves Catalonia? talkSPORT.com takes a look.

Bay FC

Bronze has won it all in Europe and majority of fans believe she could want a new challenge at the NWSL.

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If it is money Bronze is after then the NWSL is the one to give it, especially clubs like Bay FC.

Alan Waxman, Co-Chair of Bay Fc, has spent a whopping $125million (£99m)to found the team last year and is in no position of slowing down.

The club broke the world record for most expensive signing by paying $860,000 (£680,000) for Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji, with no hesitation.

Bay FC understand the need to invest if they want to be successful in the NWSL and have admitted there is a great appeal in bringing big international stars to build a global fanbase for the club. And what better star than Bronze?

Bronze has the stardom, experience and trophy knowledge that this club craves and if they pay enough whilst convincing her about the project, then there’s a high chance she will follow.

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Chelsea

Following the news of Bronze’s Barcelona departure, reports have emerged that Chelsea are knocking on the Bronze’s door.

Whilst this might be seen as a surprise because Chelsea already have two strong right-backs, Ashley Lawrence and Eve Perisset, there are some advantages to Bronze.

The only trophy Chelsea have consistently struggled to win is the Champions League with Barcelona defeating them in the 2021 final and also knocking them out in the semis for the past two seasons.

Perhaps Bronze’s insight into Barcelona could give Chelsea the upper hand or maybe it’s because Chelsea’s new manager, Sonia Bompastor, has heard about the impact the Lioness has had on the Lyon team before Bompastor took over.

Bronze already has three WSL trophies, two League Cups and two FA Cups to her name but perhaps the 32-year-old’s legacy is not over in England.

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Real Madrid

Bronze has made it clear she loves playing in Spain, the culture, food, language and people.

If she wants to continue with her new Spanish lifestyle then she would need to play for a Spanish club.

Real Madrid are competitive, a Champions League club and finished second in the Liga F last season.

With right back Kenti Robles set to leave Real Madrid for CF Pachuca in Liga MX, a space in the team has opened up for Bronze.

The only downside would be joining Barcelona’s biggest rivals – a potential barrier, but one that has been crossed before.

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Paris Saint-Germain

Lyon are in a transitional phase after the departure of their manager, Bompastor, to Chelsea, therefore PSG are a team that could possibly contend for the French Division 1 title.

PSG are a team in the Champions league and with Bronze’s experience of playing in Lyon, winning trophies there and ability to speak French.

It would be wise for PSG to sign a player that can help lead their backline with an abundance of experience and knowledge.

Lionesses and FIFA Best Goalkeeper Mary Earps is also rumoured to be in contract talks with PSG.

Could the English goalkeeper and right-back duo be the key to more trophy success?

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Benfica

Perhaps a club unlikely to be mentioned in reference to Bronze, but with her Portuguese background from her father’s side, it wouldn’t be shocking to see her move to Benfica.

The right-back still has the ability to play Champions League football and what better place to do it than in a country she has a connection to.

With Bronze admitting in 2017 that she’s ‘just as Portuguese’ as she is English and there was actually a point in her career that she considered representing Portugal if it wasn’t for her making England’s 2013 European Championship squad due to an injury crisis.

Benfica are up and coming, having just completed an impressive quadruple, while they also held Barcelona to a 4-4 draw in the Champions League last season and put up a tough battle against Lyon in the quarter-finals.

Bronze has never played in Portugal so if she wanted the challenge of playing in a new European league with a Champions League team then Benfica is the perfect choice and a potential fairytale ending.

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