Manchester City’s Deyna Castellanos: ‘I want to change the world a little bit’

Back home in Venezuela, Deyna Castellanos is known as “Queen Deyna” but, minutes into our conversation, all nagging fears that Manchester City’s new No 10 might prove precious or high maintenance have evaporated.

In Spanish reina means queen and, as it rhymes with Deyna, it felt a natural fit for a woman who became captain of her country’s La Vinotinto at only 21.

Gareth Taylor’s marquee summer signing from Atlético Madrid is 23 now but Castellanos recognises that, without winning a college scholarship to study journalism and football in Florida, that national armband might never have been hers.

“Going to the US was life-changing,” says the refreshingly down-to-earth forward who grew up in the city of Maracay near the Caribbean coast, idolising Brazil’s Marta and fighting for the right to play football. “It was an amazing, very important, moment for my career.”

It explains why Castellanos has established a foundation which, among other things, helps provide football scholarships for young South American girls and why she talked so passionately about gender equality, education and “changing mindsets” at her introductory unveiling as a City player.

“I want to change the world a little bit and fight for equality,” says a versatile forward or attacking midfielder central to Gareth Taylor’s reconstruction plans after a summer of radical change in east Manchester.

With Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh decamping to Barcelona, Georgia Stanway joining Bayern Munich, Caroline Weir leaving for Real Madrid and Ellen White retiring, this season’s first XI is much altered.

“The players that left were very big, very important,” acknowledges Castellanos, who scored 23 goals in 59 appearances for Atlético. “But everyone here now is very happy