“For me it is a dream to be at Barca. I left with the mentality of being able to return ”, says Ona Batlle (Vilassar de Mar, Barcelona; 24 years old), the prodigal daughter of Barca. The FC Barcelona has officially announced the signing of her after weeks of rumours. After three brilliant seasons at Manchester United, the Catalan footballer returns to the team where she grew up and will wear the blaugrana shirt until June 30, 2026. Batlle is the first signing of the season for Barca, the league champion team and the Champions League. She is also one of the shortlisted for the Spanish National Team to play the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which begins on July 20.
“My challenge is to be at the level of the team, contribute and give everything,” says the Catalan footballer in her presentation with Barca. Her relationship with the club began at the age of 12, when she landed at La Masia. After passing through the youth team and the Barca subsidiary, in which she spent three years, she moved away from the Catalan capital to make the leap to the first division at the hands of Madrid CFF. The following year, she became part of Levante, although an ankle injury prevented her from making her debut in the first days.
The Barca team already had Batlle in their sights, but they could not recover it: the compensation clause prevented it. This agreement obliges the clubs to pay huge amounts for the training rights of an under-23 footballer who ends her contract. Thus, Manchester United -being a foreign club is excluded from the norm- took over the player in the summer of 2020. Since then, three seasons at the English club have positioned her as a key player in the team. Batlle is recognized as one of the best in her position.
The one from Vilassar has also been summoned on several occasions by the Spanish National Team, and won the 2015 Under-17 European Championship and the 2017 Under-19 European Championship. Batlle arrives at Barca to reinforce the position of Right back, who will have to balance and share minutes with the indisputable Lucy Bronze and Marta Torrejon, both with contracts until 2024.
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Source: EL PAIS
