Women's transfer window winners and losers: Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Man Utd all look weaker after summer market as Michele Kang's London City Lionesses take centre stage

It's been a difficult summer, again, for Barcelona fans. While Marcus Rashford and Joan Garcia were both registered just in time for the Catalans' first La Liga game as their financial constraints continue to cause problems, the women's side have watched player after player head out the exits, with only one new signing arriving to leave them with a rather depleted squad ahead of the new campaign.

It's all because of the Financial Fair Play rules that the club has to adhere to, a task made tricky by the fact that every department in this multi-sports organisation - from football to basketball to rugby - is factored into those regulations.

In previous years, other teams have been impacted by this situation, with the women's side left relatively untroubled by it all. Indeed, two years ago, the basketball team had to part ways with its star player, Nikola Mirotic, in order to meet the FFP rules and be able to register players. "We would like each section to have its own Fair Play and not depend on La Liga," Xavier O'Callaghan, Barca's head of professional sports, said last month. "But we must accept the rules that exist today.”

This year, Barca Femeni have been hit hard, with Fridolina Rolfo and Ellie Roebuck both having their contracts terminated early, by mutual consent, as all departments look to reduce their wage bills, while academy products such as Jana Fernandez, Martina Fernandez, Bruna Vilamala, Judit Pujols and Ona Baradad have all been sold for fees. It means the club has been able to meet the FFP rules, but it does leave the women's team at a real disadvantage going into the new season, especially if they want to come out on top in the Champions League again.

This season, the relegation battle in the WSL is going to look quite different. Rather than the usual process of the bottom club being relegated, and the winners of the second-tier being promoted, not only will the top two in the newly-rebranded WSL 2 go up, but the team that finishes third also might, if they win a play-off with the team that finishes bottom of the WSL. There will be no automatic relegation spot in the top-flight, as it looks to expand.

Given most would expect the worst team in the WSL to beat the third-best in WSL 2, there's not as great a feeling of jeopardy as usual, which is good news for newly-promoted London City Lionesses, who will be looking to break the run of two successive seasons of the second-tier champion being immediately relegated.

Yet, given the transfer window London City have had, there are actually not many who would tip them to be in that relegation scrap. The club is owned by billionaire Michele Kang - who also owns the Washington Spirit in the NWSL and Lyon, the eight-time European champions - and that financial might, coupled with big ambitions, has resulted in London City making 15 signings.

England forward Nikita Parris, Spain centre-back Jana Fernandez, Italy defender Elena Linari and Netherlands midfielder Danielle van de Donk are just some of the established stars to have been recruited, with promising young players such as Freya Godfrey from Arsenal, Sophia Poor from Aston Villa and Isa Kardinaal from Ajax also added. Combined with the star quality that was already brought in last summer to propel the club to promotion, this doesn't look like a squad that will struggle - it looks like one that could find itself well inside the top half of the WSL on debut.

It's hard to bemoan the transfers Manchester United have made in this transfer window. Julia Zigiotti Olme is a classy midfielder who undoubtedly improves that area of the squad, as was evident in her performances in Champions League qualifying last month, while Fridolina Rolfo is a top-class footballer and the kind of game-changing talent that the Red Devils need if they are to really kick on and challenge for top honours on a regular basis. Jess Park, the club's stunning deadline-day addition, is another player of serious quality who adds to a forward line which head coach Marc Skinner was keen to strengthen.

The problem is that that is where United's recruitment ends. Despite the Red Devils having plenty of catching up to do to the likes of Chelsea, with their unmatched depth, and Arsenal, who just made Olivia Smith the first million-pound player in women's football history, it's hard to argue that they got significantly stronger this summer, particularly given the departure of Grace Clinton to City.

Skinner admitted he wanted two more signings through the door before the deadline passed, and that was both before Clinton's exit and prior to United moving one step closer to the Champions League proper, which will stretch this thin squad out. If the Red Devils want to take that next step in the women's game, they have to do more. This window was not good enough.

It's been a tough couple of years for Ellie Roebuck. The 2023-24 season, her eighth and final one with Manchester City, began with her out-of-favour before she then suffered an infarct in her occipital lobe, a type of stroke, which she was fortunately able to make a full recovery from. At the end of that campaign, she secured a big move to three-time European champions Barcelona and would play her first match in 19 months last December, in a win over Real Betis. But Roebuck would only feature once more for the Catalans before seeing her two-year contract terminated early, as the club trimmed down their wage bill to meet financial regulations.

It's not long since Roebuck was the most exciting goalkeeper in England. She broke through at City as an 18-year-old and made her England debut that same year, with her seemingly set to be the Lionesses' long-term No.1 in due course. However, Sarina Wiegman's decision to bring Mary Earps in from the international wilderness put that latter aim on hold, before events of the last two years left Roebuck unable to challenge for a spot while Hannah Hampton took over.

This summer's move to Aston Villa, then, could be the moment that things get back on track for Roebuck. After all, given how long she has been around, it's easy to forget she is still just 25 years old, only a year older than Hampton. If she can play regularly again at Villa, she should get back into the England picture in no time, given how good she is. Can she then battle the Lionesses' No.1 for her starting spot? That's too far ahead to think about right now, but it does feel like this move is a huge step in the right direction for Roebuck.

It's been another rough transfer window for Paris Saint-Germain, who have lost two more star players to bitter rivals Lyon this summer. Marie-Antoinette Katoto, the club's all-time top goal-scorer, and Korbin Albert, the young American midfielder, have both swapped PSG for OL in recent months, moves which make it hard to see the Parisians' doing much to dent Lyon's dominance of the domestic game, best illustrated by the fact they've won 18 of the last 19 French league titles.

There have been positives in the market for PSG. After all, they've signed Real Madrid captain Olga Carmona and Nigeria forward Rasheedat Ajibade, who was one of the most exciting attackers in Spain during her four years with Atletico Madrid. However, the club has done nowhere near enough this summer to strengthen to the point of properly challenging Lyon, or making a mark in the Champions League. This squad just has too many holes in it.

Every transfer window, there is an underdog team that does particularly exciting business, the kind of which marks them out as a dark horse in many people's eyes. In the Women's Super League this year, it feels like Brighton are right in that sweet spot after a flurry of intriguing signings, with the balance seemingly struck between experience and potential across their six additions.

Most of the experience comes in defensive areas. Chiamaka Nnadozie, arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the world, arrives to be the Seagulls' No.1 after helping Nigeria to win the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, while Moeka Minami is an extremely good signing for the defence, especially given Brighton play with a back three. Minami has excelled in that set-up for Roma since landing in Europe three years ago, helping them to usurp Juventus at the top of Italian women's football.

Maelys Mpome is a strong addition, too, as a versatile defensive option with lots of potential. The 22-year-old spent just one year at Chelsea, with it something of a surprise that the Blues decided to let her go given the promise she showed when she wasn't sidelined during an injury-hit season in London.

There's also a lot to be excited about further forward. Michelle Agyemang is back on loan and primed for a real breakout season in the WSL after her heroics at Euro 2025, while Rosa Kafaji also joins from Arsenal for a temporary spell, having struggled to make her mark at the Gunners. There's no doubt about the Swede's talent, though, which should suit Dario Vidosic's style of play.

Then there is Carla Camacho, the 20-year-old striker who arrives from Real Madrid on a free transfer. Camacho has been a star of the Spain youth national teams for many years now but was not given much of a look-in with Las Blancas' first team. She will, therefore, be itching to prove herself in the senior game.

It feels like a window which has seen Brighton address some of their weaknesses at the back, which led to them having the joint-fourth-worst defensive record in last season's WSL, while also ensuring the attack still remains dangerous. The Seagulls finished fifth last year, which is hard to top given it means bettering the results of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United or Man City, but it does feel like they can get closer to that leading pack, who they were 15 points behind last time around.

It's been a bumpy summer for Liverpool. The Reds entered the off-season without a manager and, despite rumours of the move circulating as early as mid-June, it wasn't until August 8 that they finally filled that vacancy, appointing former Man City boss Gareth Taylor. It means the 52-year-old missed out on valuable pre-season time with his new squad, which could make it trickier for him to implement his attractive but challenging playing style in time for the WSL's return.

The transfer window has been hard on Liverpool, too. Before Taylor had even arrived, he'd watched vice-captain Taylor Hinds depart for Arsenal on a free transfer and star forward Smith would follow suit a few days later, albeit for a then-world-record fee of £1 million ($1.36m).

But that money has not been reinvested into a squad that needs improving if the Reds are to be able to play the way Taylor wants and, in turn, have a successful season. Having underwhelmed at times during his City reign, it does feel like the former Wales international has a point to prove as a manager, but his chances of doing so in this upcoming campaign don't feel too high given the transfer window his new team have had.

To scroll through the list of transfers that have taken place this summer is to come across a lot of players who have made names for themselves in the Spain youth national teams - winning titles with the Under-17s, U19s and U20s - and see that most of them are heading abroad.

Judit Pujols will be hoping to get her first taste of regular senior football with Wolfsburg, after the two-time European champions signed the Barcelona academy product; Ainhoa Alguacil, who ranked eighth in the 2025 NXGN list, is also heading to Germany, joining Eintracht Frankfurt after establishing herself as a starter in Liga F with Valencia as a teenager; while Daniela Arques is opting for a new challenge in Portugal with Sporting CP, having also played plenty of minutes before her 20th birthday with Levante. All three were part of the Spain team that won the U19 Euros last year.

Pujols also helped the U19s win that title in 2023, alongside Martina Fernandez, who has just made her move to Everton permanent having had a great half-season on loan on Merseyside earlier this year; Carla Camacho, the exciting young striker who has left Real Madrid to join Brighton; and Lucia Corrales, who London City Lionesses paid a whopping €540,000 (£470,000/$628,000) for on deadline day. Ornella Vignola, who played with Pujols at the U20 World Cup last year, is another to join Everton, having once been Barcelona's second-youngest player ever.

There are other moves to note, too, with Ona Baradad and Bruna Vilamala both leaving Barca permanently, to join Espanyol and Club America, respectively. Though the former isn't going abroad, she is hoping to get first-team football on a regular basis for the first time in order to try and live up to her undoubted potential, as so many of the aforementioned are.

There is a lot of promising Spanish talent on the move this summer, all aiming to develop as a result of these decisions. Given what they have all shown at youth level, it's hard to believe those skills will not be transferrable to the senior game for most. That's what all their new clubs are banking on, too.