Barcelona continue summer recruitment drive with Irene Paredes signing

Barcelona have completed the signing of centre-back Irene Paredes to bring the Spain international back home after spending the last five years in France with Paris Saint-Germain.

Paredes is the third major capture of the week for Barça Femeni following the arrivals of Norway midfielder Ingrid Engen and Sweden forward Fridolina Rolfo, both from Wolfsburg.

Paredes, who has been selected by Spain at two World Cups (2015, 2019) and two European Championships (2013, 2017), has signed a two-year contract until the summer of 2023.

Formerly of Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao earlier in her career, the 30-year-old was part of the PSG side that finally broke Lyon’s domestic and European dominance last season, wrestling the league title away from the French giants and knocking them out of the Champions League.

“I’m delighted to come to a club that has just made history. I’m here to contribute and hope the team can get even stronger,” Paredes told Barça TV.

“It’s a completely different team to the one I used to face with Athletic five or so years ago. Anyone can see that it’s grown as a club and individually. The players have worked hard but they have got the results.”

“I spoke to a lot of the players on the national team. They have said good things about the club and its plans, and they obviously helped me to make my decision.”

Barcelona’s strong recruitment makes it clear that the club are unwilling to rest on their laurels following an historic treble winning season in 2020/21, which saw them thrash Chelsea in the Champions League final to lift the trophy for the first time.

The absence of Andrea Pereira through suspension in the final forced Barça into a reshuffle that saw midfielder Patri Guijarro partner Mapi Leon in the centre of defence. The arrival of Paredes will only serve to strengthen the depth in that position as the clubs looks to retain its titles in 2021/22.

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