REAL MADRID
Linda Caicedo set to join Real Madrid: when will she sign and be unveiled?
Having turned 18 on Wednesday, Colombia starlet Caicedo is expected to leave Deportivo Cali for Spanish giants Real Madrid.
22 February has arrived - a red-letter day for Linda Caicedo, who turns 18. While the Colombia starlet remained a minor, FIFA regulations prohibited her from joining a club outside her home country, but all the indications are that the forward will now sign for Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Caicedo chooses Madrid ahead of host of other suitors
Caicedo has received a raft of offers from teams in other leagues, but she is understood to have identified Madrid as the best place to continue her development.
“Her transfer will make headlines all around the world,” the player’s agent, Cisco Terreros, told AS last month. Caicedo has been approached by sides in England, Brazil, the US, and other clubs in Spain. Although Barcelona, Madrid’s arch rivals, publicly acknowledged their interest in the teenager, the Catalans did not finally submit a firm offer for a player who is considered one of the brightest prospects in worldwide women’s football.
Madrid plan to unveil Caicedo on Friday
According to the Colombian newspaper El País de Cali, Caicedo was due to travel to Spain on Wednesday, having been on international duty at the Women’s Revelations Cup in Mexico in recent days. The plan is for her to undergo a medical, sign her contract and be confirmed as a new Madrid player, before being unveiled on Friday.
She would be one of the team’s most high-profile players, with the Spanish capital club keen to harness her talent, and her prominence in Colombia, to help their women’s side grow. Caicedo would share a dressing room with star performers such as Athenea del Castillo, Nahikari García, Lorena Navarro and Kathellen Souza.
Caicedo set to be key figure for Colombia at World Cup
Caicedo knows that she’ll be tasked with hitting the ground running in Spain - she can’t afford not to be playing regular club football ahead of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which kicks off on 20 July. Colombia have been handed a tough group-stage draw - La Tricolor face Germany, Morocco and South Korea - and she is central to her team’s chances of success.
In 2022, Caicedo starred for Colombia at the Under-17 and Under-20 Women’s World Cups, helping her team to the final of the former. The Deportivo Cali forward also excelled for the senior Colombian national team at the Copa América Feminina last year, earning the player-of-the-tournament award.