Ona Batlle to leave Manchester United as next club confirmed

Manchester United defender Ona Batlle will leave the club at the end of the month upon the expiry of her contract and is set to re-join Barcelona.

The 24-year-old spent her youth career with the Spanish giants before she had spells at Madrid CFF and Levante. Batlle joined United in the summer of 2020 and made 77 appearances in total for the Reds across all competitions.

She scored three goals in that time and played a key role in this season's historic campaign, which saw United earn a second-placed finish the the Barclays Women's Super League and qualify for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time. The Spain international also played the full 90 minutes of the FA Cup final last month as United were narrowly edged 1-0 by Chelsea.

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For Spain, Batlle has represented her country at various youth levels and has just shy of 30 caps for the senior side. She was part of their Euro squad last summer and was named in Jorge Vilda's preliminary squad for this summer's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

United said in a statement: "Everyone at the football club thanks Ona for her fine service and wishes her luck in the next stage of her career."

Batlle has signed a three-year deal with Barcelona running until 2026. Speaking on the move, she told fcbarcelona.com: "It has always been my dream to be in the Barca first team. It's true that I left, but I did it with the mindset that I could come back. I'm really looking forward to and excited to share the dressing room and experiences with the players I'll be with.

"For me, Barca has