June 2026 is a month Caroline Weir is unlikely to forget. She scored seven goals in two Scotland games as the team clinched top spot in their World Cup qualifying group, watched on with joy at 2am as Scotland’s men secured their first World Cup win for 36 years, and then her move to OL Lyonnes was announced by the eight-time European champions.
The Scotland captain says the lure of playing for Europe’s most decorated women’s club made the transfer an easy decision after four happy years playing for Real Madrid.
“At this stage in my career, I want to push on,” the 30-year-old says of joining this season’s beaten Champions League finalists. “I want to be competing to win things, I want to be playing with the best players. I would love to be up there competing for the Champions League. The way the competition now is so competitive, there are so many more eyes on it and I want to be in the final stages.
“That’s never a given – it’s really tough to get to semi-finals and finals and then obviously to win it is so tough – but I want to be in the conversation or at least at a club [where] that’s what they prepare to be at, at the end of the season. They’re a massive club with a massive history as well, a successful history and lots of trophies. I want to challenge myself to play with those players and also the manager.”
Weir says conversations with the Lyonnes head coach, Jonatan Giráldez, helped her know this move was the right choice. The Spanish former Barcelona coach outlined how he envisaged her thriving in his tactical plans. “It was interesting speaking to him,” says Weir, who signed a three-year contract. “We spoke about things he thought I was good at. We also spoke about things he thought I could improve, which I think was good for me to hear, and my style of play, [being] a No 10, being left-footed and just how he sees me playing alongside other players in that position, so we did speak quite in-depth about tactics. That gave me a good idea of what to expect.
“He’s worked with the best players and won everything so there were a number of factors involved but it was an easy decision in the end.”
Before pre-season training begins in July, Weir has three big things on her to-do list for settling into a new city: finding a good nail salon, finding somewhere to get her eyelashes done and acquainting herself with the best local parks to walk her dog – Parc de la Tête d’Or, near the Rhône, should be ideal. Weir, who had never been to Lyon before discussing her transfer, likens the city’s beauty to that of Scotland’s capital and says: “I know it’s like the food capital of France; I’ve been hearing the food is amazing. When I went there, it actually reminded me a little bit of Edinburgh, like a French version of Edinburgh.”
Weir says, though, that she and her husband are “going to miss” the Madrid lifestyle. She leaves as Real’s all-time record scorer with 63 goals in her 125 appearances, won the club’s adoration and will look back fondly on her four years in Spain, where she finished as a league runner-up to Barcelona each season.
“I reflect with very happy memories, on and off the pitch,” says Weir, who also holds the club assists record (40). “My only regret is we didn’t win that first title. But apart from that, how I impacted the team, I’m really proud of those statistics. Madrid, me and my husband, we were very happy there. It’s an amazing lifestyle, an amazing city. But I feel like that chapter came to a natural end and I was also ready to move on.”
Bidding farewell to Weir, Real said the club wished to “express its gratitude and affection for everything she has contributed to our club, as well as for her professionalism, commitment, and dedication”, and she also received a personalised message on a signed shirt from Jude Bellingham. “Jude and I have spoken several times. We’ve always got on well and had nice conversations about the club and Madrid. For him to write that message – I would have been happy with the signed top – that message just shows how classy a person he is. He’s a great guy and that was a really nice touch.”
The British duo could not meet to say goodbye because Bellingham was training with England before the World Cup, a tournament which is whetting Weir’s appetite for next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil. After Weir scored a hat-trick against Israel on 5 June, then backed it up with four goals against the same opponent four days later, Scotland have topped their League B group in European qualifying to reach the playoffs, and will find out their playoff opponents on Thursday.
After watching the men beat Haiti as a fan from back home in Scotland, Weir, named as the women’s team’s captain in February, says: “I’ve never seen so many Scotland tops. It is amazing. Scotland flags on cars, outside houses. It’s really special. It’s amazing to see that. It’s so inspiring.
“Going to Brazil for a World Cup, it’s just what dreams are all about. It’s No 1 on my list of dreams. Obviously Champions League and club level, but I think to take Scotland to a World Cup is up there. We were speaking about it a lot recently and because the guys are there and just the experiences they’re having and how much the country is supporting them and we would love a bit of that. We’ve kind of completed the first step, getting to the playoffs, and then we’ll look forward to the playoffs at the end of the year. We’ll take it step by step.”