Salma Paralluelo has already decided her future. The 22-year-old Aragonese forward signs for OL Lyonnes, the French giant with eight Champions League titles in its trophy cabinet and one of the historical dominators of the continent, until 2030. Paralluelo will land in France after rejecting Barcelona’s renewal offer —improved after a great end to the season— and leaving the Blaugrana club after four years and 15 titles, including three Champions League titles. The last one, precisely, against Lyon. She is moving to one of Barcelona’s biggest rivals in Europe, against whom she scored the last two goals wearing the Blaugrana jersey, precisely those that sealed the Champions League final in Oslo where Barça lifted its fourth continental trophy. She will not be alone: in Lyon, she will meet former Blaugrana Ingrid Engen and her former coach Jonatan Giráldez. She is the third Barça footballer this summer to move to one of magnate Michele Kang’s teams after Alexia Putellas and Mapi León signed for London City.
Elle est là. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/P4tfUDSjmH
— OL Lyonnes (@ol__lyonnes) July 25, 2026
The footballer decided not to accept the renewal offer from the Blaugrana club, which announced her departure after four years at Barça on June 30, when her contract ended. Paralluelo, who had accumulated periods of inconsistency and knee problems —in 2021, with Villarreal, when she was still combining athletics and football, she tore her anterior cruciate ligament—, reached her best form at the end of the season. In the Champions League semifinals against Bayern Munich, she scored a goal and provided an assist, a performance that earned her recognition as the best player of the match. And in the final in Oslo against Lyon, precisely the team that now incorporates her into its ranks, she scored a brace to seal the match and lift the fourth ‘Orejona’ (big-eared trophy) in Blaugrana history.
Her impact in the final stretch of the season, reminiscent of the Salma Paralluelo who stood on the third step of the Ballon d’Or podium in 2023 and 2024, in addition to the departure scenario the club faced, led Barcelona to present a better financial offer than the initial one. But they did not convince Paralluelo. So, her time ended, her contract expired, and she left as a free agent, a situation that Barça tried to avoid last summer by being willing to listen to offers for the forward.
After having won 15 titles —including three Champions League titles— and with a record of 72 goals in 131 matches, she had suitors from England, France, and the United States. According to The Athletic, Chelsea, one of the teams most interested in signing her, withdrew from the bidding after the Aragonese rejected their proposal and maintained her financial demands at around one million euros per season.
Finally, Paralluelo has chosen to pursue her future and career in France with one of Europe’s historic and dominant clubs.
