Manchester City Women's managing director Charlotte O'Neill has confirmed that contract negotiations with star striker Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw are ongoing, while insisting that Women's Super League clubs can compete with the highest salaries in world football.
Shaw's Future at City
Shaw, the Jamaica international, is out of contract at the newly-crowned WSL champions this summer and has been linked with a move to rivals Chelsea. Reports suggest Chelsea have offered her a £1m salary, which would be the highest in the WSL and second only to US NWSL stars Trinity Rodman and Catarina Macario globally.
O'Neill told City AM: 'Obviously, I can't talk about ongoing contract negotiations, but she's been a magnificent player for us. She's had a cracking season and she's very well loved here.'
Can WSL Match NWSL Pay?
When asked whether English clubs could match the wages offered in the NWSL, O'Neill responded: 'I think every club makes their own investment decisions, based on their investment model, and yeah, I mean, why not? The revenues are growing.'
The comments came as Manchester City Women opened their new dedicated training facility, a £10m investment located at the club's Etihad Campus. London City Lionesses and Tottenham Hotspur Women are also pursuing purpose-built training centres, which are seen as the next frontier for ambitious teams.
Investment in Facilities
'A lot of investment initially went into the playing group and staff, and then I think the facility piece is the foundation of any good team,' O'Neill said. 'You've got to have a facility that the world's best players can train and develop in, so that's why this investment is so important for us, because it will drive success for the next decade.'
Academy and U21s Going Pro
The training centre is part of a broader plan to nurture talent, including academy expansion and full-time professional contracts for under-21s. 'Our other big piece of investment is in our girls' academy, so that we can grow and develop the world's best talent in-house in a similar way that we've done on the men's side,' said O'Neill.
'An example of that investment is we will have, for the first time, a next gen squad who will be fully professional for the new season, and coached by Izzy Christensen, a former Lioness.'
Stadium Strategy
While Arsenal and Chelsea have adopted their main stadiums for women's teams, City have no plans to move from the 7,000-seat Joie Stadium. 'I think every club has a very different infrastructure set up. We are super fortunate that we have our own stadium, which is highly unusual within the league,' O'Neill added.
'Our strategy is different because we have our own stadium. We have this season, for example, done two games in the Etihad – the derby, and then our game against Chelsea. They're super successful and they're different fixtures. But absolutely, the Joie Stadium is our home. Joie have been amazing partners for us, and we're super happy with the stadium that we have for our women's team.'
