Rose Lavelle on the move to Manchester City

Wisconsin Badgers soccer legend and USWNT hero Rose Lavelle is on the move.

Earlier this week the Washington Spirit traded Lavelle to OL Reign with the knowledge that Lavelle was going to be playing outside of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) this season. Washington will receive OL Reign’s natural first round draft pick in the 2022 NWSL College Draft, $100,000 in allocation money, and additional allocation money conditioned upon Lavelle’s future playing status in the NWSL, according to OL Reign’s official trade announcement.

“Rose is an incredible talent that we believe has all the attributes to be the best player in the world. While we would have loved to have Rose join our club today, she fits perfectly into our long-term vision for the squad,” said OL Reign CEO Bill Predmore. “It was the vision of Jean-Michel [Aulas] and the support of OL that made this deal this possible for our club. We are willing to make the necessary short-term sacrifices, exercise the needed patience, and do whatever work is required to realize our goal of bringing Rose to OL Reign in the future.”

After being traded within the NWSL, however, Lavelle opted to sign with Manchester City of the Women’s Super League in Europe.

“I think I knew at some point I wanted to go overseas. I just didn’t know when. Then this opportunity with Man City came up and it felt like a great time to go. Pandemic or not, Man City is a great place to be at. It’s an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up,” Lavelle said.

“The [Women’s Super League] is a great league that keeps getting better every year. It is attracting a lot of really great players,” Lavelle told BBC Sport.

Joining the midfielder in Manchester will be USWNT teammate Sam Mewis who was also signed by City this offseason. “We [Lavelle and Mewis] were definitely keeping each other in the loop with where we were at in our decision-making,” Lavelle added.