Image Credits: Imago Images
French football’s dominant force has made their first major signing of the summer, and it is one that carries genuine star power.
OL Lyonnes have built an empire in women’s football.
Eight European titles, five consecutive domestic league championships, and a reputation for signing the very best players on the continent.
That reputation remains very much intact this summer, with the Lyon club announcing a new arrival who brings a Ballon d’Or nomination, two Real Madrid Player of the Year awards and over a decade of elite level experience to the south of France.
Scotland’s captain Caroline Weir has signed a three-year contract with Lyon, committing herself to the club until 2029 on a free transfer after her deal at Real Madrid expired.
The 30-year-old attacking midfielder leaves Spain as Real Madrid Femenino’s all-time leading goalscorer, a record she broke in March 2025 when she surpassed the previous benchmark of 39 goals set by Esther González.
By the time she left the club, she had scored 63 goals in 125 appearances across all competitions, adding 38 assists to her tally and winning the club’s Player of the Year award in both 2023 and 2025.
“The club is delighted with this new signing, who will strengthen Lyon’s midfield with her clinical finishing and top-level experience,” Lyon said in their official statement.
But Weir’s journey to becoming one of the world’s finest players was a long and winding one, and Liverpool played a meaningful role in it.
In January 2016, she left relegated Bristol Academy to sign for the Reds, and what followed was a formative spell at Anfield that helped shape the player she would become.
She made 41 league appearances for Liverpool Women, scored 13 goals, and was voted the club’s Ladies Player of the Year for 2016.
It was a period that sharpened her technically and gave her the platform to attract attention from the sport’s bigger clubs.
Manchester City came calling in 2018, and it was there that her career truly accelerated.
She won four trophies at City, including two FA Women’s Cups and two WSL Cups, and became one of the division’s most celebrated players.
Two separate goals against Manchester United were nominated for the FIFA Puskas Award, underlining her gift for the spectacular.
The move to Real Madrid in 2022 elevated her to a different level entirely.
She became the first Scottish player in the top division of Spanish women’s football and, despite suffering an ACL injury that wiped out almost the entirety of the 2023-24 season, she returned with even greater authority.
In August 2025 she became the first Scottish player ever to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or Féminin, a landmark moment for both the individual and for Scottish women’s football as a whole.
She departs Real Madrid having expressed regret at never winning silverware with the club, with Barcelona proving an insurmountable obstacle throughout her time in Spain.
Lyon, by contrast, know how to win, and Weir arrives at a club that lost to Barcelona in this season’s Champions League final by four goals, hungry to end a run without European success that stretches back to 2022.
At 30, with 121 caps for Scotland and a wealth of experience across four countries, Caroline Weir is precisely the kind of signing that tells you everything about what Lyon intend to do next.