Catarina Macario Chelsea Women 2023Chelsea FC
Ameé Ruszkai

Why USWNT star Catarina Macario is a perfect signing for Chelsea - even if there is risk involved

C. MacarioChelsea FC WomenWomen's footballFEATURESLyonUSAWSLDivision 1Women's Champions League

The Lyon forward will join the Blues when her contract expires this summer. She hasn't played for almost a year but is a gamble worth taking.

Catarina Macario is one of the most talented players on the planet. It's no surprise, then, with her Lyon contract expiring this summer, that rumours around her future have been rife. Chelsea and Barcelona are the two sides that have been linked with the U.S. women's national team forward the most and, in early June, the Blues announced that she will join the club on July 1.

It's huge news. Macario is insanely gifted, and was arguably among the top three players in the world in the 2021-22 season, when her form helped inspire Lyon to a record eighth UEFA Women's Champions League title.

It's that honour which Chelsea crave the most. The Blues have been dominant domestically for close to a decade but have yet to take that final step in Europe, losing 4-0 to Barcelona in the 2021 final. Landing Macario is a huge statement of their intent to fill that gap in the trophy cabinet.

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Having not kicked a ball competitively since last June, the Brazilian-born forward is not a risk-free signing by any means. But, at the same time, she also feels like a perfect one for Chelsea.