Katie Zelem leaves Manchester United after six years with the Women’s Super League side
KATIE ZELEM is the second senior player to leave Manchester United Women with the midfielder departing this month.
The England ace’s exit comes a day after forward Lucia Garcia’s departure with goalkeeper Mary Earps also reportedly set to leave.
Earlier today the club paid tribute to Zelem, 28, who made history last month becoming the first Red Devils skipper to lift the Women’s FA Cup.
The lifelong Man United fan spent six years with the side making 161 appearances and netting 32 goals.
Her departure comes in a week in which the Manchester giants have faced criticism over plans to move their WSL aces to portable buildings at their Carrington training ground.
The training complex is undergoing a £50million renovation with club co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe talking of wanting to “create a world class environment for teams to win”.
With United men’s indoor facility being revamped, their women’s squad are reportedly being moved out of their state-of-art base which will be used by the club’s Prem side next season.
Zelem, who was born in Manchester began her Red Devils’ journey in the club’s Girls’ Centre of Excellence at eight, playing in their academy until 2013.
With United not having a senior women’s side due to the team being disbanded in 2005, Zelem joined rivals Liverpool whose players then included England ace Lucy Bronze.
The midfielder went on to win back-to-back WSL titles under head coach Matt Beard during her four-year spell in Merseyside before joining Juventus for one season in 2017.
A year later Zelem returned to Manchester to join a Red Devils re-established back in 2018 with Casey Stoney appointed as head coach.
She helped the team win promotion from the Championship to the women’s top-flight in 2019 and captained them to a 4-0 FA Cup final triumph over Tottenham last month.
The midfielder’s England team-mate Earps, 31, is expected to leave United during the summer transfer window with the goalkeeper heavily linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
And Nikita Parris, 30, is rumoured to be another high-profile player linked with a summer move away from United.
Last month The Athletic reported the Lioness had turned down a megabucks move to US top-flight club North Carolina Courage.
It is claimed the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) side wanted Parris to join before their division’s April 19 transfer deadline.