Venezuela international Deyna Castellanos has left Manchester City and signed with NWSL expansion club Bay FC, the team announced Friday.
Castellanos has signed a contract through 2026 with an option for the 2027 season. A source indicated to ESPN that the deal is estimated to be worth more than $1.8 million guaranteed over four years, making Castellanos the highest paid foreign player in the NWSL.
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The forward joined Manchester City in 2022 on a three-year deal from Atletico Madrid, where she won the 2020-21 Supercopa de España Femenina title.
"I can't wait to be there in the [San Francisco] Bay Area," the 24-year-old Maracay native told ESPN ahead of her move. "With the team and with obviously the coaching staff, that's something that I'm very looking forward to."
Bay FC, the NWSL's 14th club, will debut in the upcoming 2024 season, along with the return of the previously defunct Utah Royals to the league.
"I think the project is something that is really amazing," Castellanos said about the appeal of playing for a team in their first season. "To be part of the first group of girls that is gonna try to accomplish all the goals that we have is something very special."
Co-founded by investment firm Sixth Street, along with former United States women's national team players Brandi Chastain, Danielle Slaton, Leslie Osborne and Aly Wagner, Bay FC unveiled their name and branding last June.
The club announced in September that they had hired former Washington Spirit interim manager Albertin Montoya as their coach.
Castellanos said she's had brief conversations with staff about her role in the XI and hopes to be played in an "ideal position" as a creative No. 10.
At Manchester City, Castellanos worked her way into a starting spot in late 2022 before becoming a rotational player last year. Since her arrival in England in July 2022, she has scored five goals and registered two assists in all competitions.
"I think I have grown a lot," Castellanos said about her time in England. "I leave with a little bit of sadness because [of] all the friends that I made here, but besides that, I think it is an exciting time for me to go back to America, to play for a new club and I'm just happy."
Ahead of her time with Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, Castellanos made headlines as a nominee for 2017's The Best FIFA Football Awards while playing college soccer with the Florida State Seminoles and also in the pro-am United Women's Soccer league.
"I think [the] United States has something special," said Castellanos, who won a NCAA title in 2018 before finishing her U.S. collegiate run in 2019.
"I'm hoping it's gonna be the same that I experienced -- obviously at a different level -- but the same amount of happiness that I experienced when I was there. To win trophies and to keep growing and keep learning every day."
With Bay FC, who will play home games at San Jose's PayPal Park, she also hopes to be part of a wider change in the perception of women's soccer in the U.S.
"I think that this team, not just me, but the club, they want to change that," she said. "That's something that was very attractive to me when I decided to join. That's what we want, that's what I want.
"I think it's gonna be difficult obviously, but it's gonna be so amazing if we accomplish that."
The NWSL announced its 2024 schedule on Thursday, with Bay FC travelling to California rivals Angel City for its opening game on March 16.