FC Barcelona and Manchester City have agreed on the transfer of forward Kerolin Nicoli, who will stay at the club till 2030.
The record transfer fee is believed to be around £1.25 million. The fee eclipses the £1 million Liverpool received for the transfer of Olivia Smith to Arsenal in 2025.
The reported fee is Barça’s biggest ever pay-on a player for the women’s team. It is not currently established what the biggest transfer is, but women’s football has seen quite a few in recent years.
Kerolin was a part of Man City when they won the WSL title and the Women’s FA Cup last season. However, overall, she only spent 18 months at the club when she arrived on 22nd January, 2025.
She scored her first goal for City during a 3-1 victory over Leicester City in the FA Cup. On February 1 2026, she also scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 win against Chelsea, which made her the first player to accomplish this feat against a reigning champion.
The 26-year-old scored 9 goals in 15 appearances for Man City.
Time at NWSL:
Before the 26-year-old joined Manchester City, she played in the NWSL for North Carolina Courage.
On January 10, 2022, Kerolin signed a three-year deal with North Carolina Courage. She made her debut as a substitute in the opening Challenge Cup game against Gotham FC.
Her first goal for the club came in the Challenge Cup final, in the 2-1 victory over the Washington Spirit, and she was named the most valuable player of the match.
On June 10, 2023, Kerolin scored her first NWSL hat trick in a 5-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars. Her tally of 10 regular-season goals was second only to Golden Boot Winner Sophia Smith, which helped the Courage to finish the regular season third in the standings.
International Career:
Kerolin received her first call-up to the senior team in September 2018 for a friendly against England. She went on to earn her first cap in the match and made her debut as a 56th-minute substitute for Debinha in Brazil’s 1-0 defeat.
However, she was not able to play in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup because of her suspension from football and was still awaiting judgment from CONMEBOL in respect of her failed doping tests.
On January 6, 2021, her suspension came to an end, and she was called into the national team training camp for evaluation by the new head coach Pia Sundhage.
Kerolin also participated in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and secured a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She scored a goal at the Olympics, the final one in Brazil’s 4-2 victory over Spain in the semi-finals.
Barça believe that her technical quality, the ability to beat defenders in one-on-one situations, and creativity add to the squad that continues to strive for greatness.
She is the fourth signing of the summer after the arrivals of goalkeeper Tyler McCamey and defenders Renee Van Asten and Martina Fernández.
FC Barcelona’s Statement on Kerolin’s signing: “The signing of Kerolin Nicoli is another clear statement of FC Barcelona’s ambition. The Club remains committed to bringing together the best players in world football with the aim of staying at the top of the game and continuing to set the standard for excellence.
The Brazilian international arrives at one of the best moments of her career to strengthen a squad built to compete for every trophy. With her talent, creativity and ability to decide matches, Kerolin adds even more quality to a team whose ambition remains unchanged: to challenge for every title and, once again, strive to win it all.”
