Atlético Madrid rejected a bid of more than £500,000 from Manchester City for the Spain midfielder Fiamma Benítez on the Women’s Super League’s transfer deadline day, the Guardian can reveal.
The WSL champions are understood to have tried hard to add attacking-midfielder reinforcements before the English summer window closed on Thursday at 11pm BST, largely in light of news that their No 10 Vivianne Miedema could be out for at least the rest of 2026 with a knee injury.
However, Atlético are understood to view Benítez as a key player and a future national team star and were not prepared to let the 22-year-old go. In 2022 Benítez helped Spain win the Under-19 Euros and Under-20 Women’s World Cup and she helped her country win the 2024 Women’s Nations League.
City then made an even later move for Everton’s Spain international Ornella Vignola, who can play in midfield or on the wing. A bid of about £400,000 is understood to have been turned down by Everton, largely because they felt they would not have time to source a suitable replacement but also because of Vignola’s importance to Scott Phelan’s side.
It was also widely reported that City attempted to bring in the Nigeria midfielder Jennifer Echegini from Paris Saint-Germain, but multiple sources have told the Guardian that PSG made clear they were not willing to sell the 25-year-old. PSG had agreed to sell the France defender Élisa De Almeida to Arsenal for a fee believed to be just over £500,000, and they were not prepared to lose two key players in one day.
City completed one deadline-day deal, bringing in England’s Anna Moorhouse on loan from Orlando Pride until the end of January, adding good-quality depth to their goalkeeping ranks after Khiara Keating moved to Liverpool on a free in July.
Although City were left scrambling unsuccessfully for a midfielder on Thursday, it was a positive summer for the club, not least because they began the summer with their most important deal, retaining the services of the WSL’s Golden Boot winner Khadija Shaw with a lucrative new contract. Andrée Jeglertz’s side begin their title defence at home to promoted Birmingham City on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will face both of last season’s Women’s Champions League finalists during this season’s League Phase after receiving the trickiest-looking draw of the three English sides involved.
Renée Slegers’ side, who won the Champions League in 2025, will travel to holders Barcelona and host runners-up OL Lyonnes as their two pot-one opponents. Chelsea travel to OL Lyonnes, Sonia Bompastor’s former side, and also host Paris Saint-Germain and Roma. City, who were in pot three, were handed home matches against PSG and Real Madrid, as well as a trip to Bayern Munich.
Arsenal’s other ties include a visit to Milan to face Inter, who pulled off the surprise of the qualifying rounds by eliminating the two-time champions Wolfsburg on penalties. City will also be away to Inter, who finished second in Serie A last season.
after newsletter promotion
There is a lot of similarity between Chelsea and Manchester City’s opponents; they both face PSG and Austria Wien at home and travel to Swedish side BK Hacken, who won last season’s inaugural Women’s Europa Cup.
The 18-team League phase gets under way on 22-23 September and the full fixture list is expected to be published within the next 24 hours. Each side plays six other teams overall – two from each of pot one, pot two and pot three. Teams from the same nation could not face each other.
The top four teams after the six matchdays in the League phase will qualify automatically for the quarter-finals, which begin in March. The teams finishing between fifth and 12th will contest the knockout phase playoffs in February, to fight for the four remaining quarter-final places. This season’s final will be held in Warsaw, Poland, in May.
The three English side’s full lists of opponents:
Manchester City PSG (h), Bayern Munich (a), Real Madrid (h), BK Hacken (a), Austria Wien (h), Inter (a).
Arsenal OL Lyonnes (h), Barcelona (a), Benfica (h), Paris FC (a), HB Koge (h), Inter (a).
Chelsea PSG (h), OL Lyonnes (a), Roma (h), BK Hacken (a), Austria Wien (h), OH Leuven (a).