Reigning FIFA Women’s Player of the Year Carli Lloyd will sign a short-term contract to play for Manchester City, a person with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the deal before it was formally announced, which could be as early as Wednesday. The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported that Lloyd was offered the contract this weekend; Sports Illustrated first reported Tuesday that she would sign.
Lloyd is expected to rejoin the Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League in June.
Lloyd has won FIFA’s top individual honor each of the past two years. She solidified her reputation as a clutch player with three goals in the first 16 minutes of the U.S. national team’s 2015 Women’s World Cup final victory over Japan.
The 34-year-old midfielder has played in three Olympics, including last summer’s disappointing finish in Brazil. The U.S. women were vying for a fourth straight gold medal but were ousted by Sweden in the quarterfinals.
Lloyd has 96 goals in 232 international appearances with the national team. She scored winning goals in back-to-back Olympic finals.
Lloyd has been able to find success in the big international tournaments because of her renowned focus and playmaking ability, but also because of her conditioning - when other players are fatigued after the grind of several matches in a short period of time, Lloyd is still fresh.
She joins several national team players who have opted to play overseas this season, including forward Alex Morgan, who will play for Lyon in France before returning to the NWSL’s Orlando Pride.
In January, Crystal Dunn signed a deal with Chelsea through 2018. Retired national team midfielder Heather O’Reilly is playing for Arsenal.
Manchester City is the defending champion of the FA Women’s Super League.
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