Man City Women’s MD on Bunny Shaw, WSL salaries and new £10m investment
Manchester City Women’s managing director Charlotte O’Neill says contract talks with star striker Khadija Shaw are “ongoing” and insists WSL clubs can match world-leading salaries.
Bunny Shaw, as the Jamaica international is better known, is out of contract at the newly-crowned WSL champions this summer and is wanted by rivals Chelsea.
But 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.”
Shaw is reported to have been offered a £1m salary by Chelsea, by far the highest in the WSL. Only Trinity Rodman and Catarina Macario, in the US NWSL, earn more in women’s football.
Asked whether English clubs could match the pay in the NWSL, O’Neill added: “I think every club makes their own investment decisions, based on their investment model, and yeah, I mean, why not? The revenues are growing.”
O’Neill was speaking as Manchester City Women opened their new dedicated training facility, an investment of £10m, at the club’s Etihad Campus.
London City Lionesses and Tottenham Hotspur Women are also pursuing purpose-built training centres, seen as the next frontier for ambitious teams.
“A lot of investment [in women’s football] initially went into the playing group and staff, and then I think the facility piece is the foundation of any good team,” she 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.”
Man City Women U21s to go full-time pro
The training centre is part of a broader plan to nurture talent at Manchester City Women which includes 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.”
While Arsenal and Chelsea have adopted their main stadium as the home of their women’s teams, City have no plans to relocate 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.”