The Oregonian reported this morning that Nadia Nadim and Amandine Henry will not return to the Thorns in 2018. Nadim is headed for Manchester City, and Henry is set to rejoin her old club, Olympique Lyonnais. The Thorns have reportedly known about both moves “for some time” and have yet-to-be-named replacements lined up.
With Henry, the writing has been on the wall since at least the end of August, when French outlet L’Equipe reported that the midfielder was likely to rejoin OL despite an offer from Paris Saint-Germain. Nadim’s departure comes as more of a surprise, although NWSL fans should, by now, be accustomed to the financial reality that the league is never more than a stopover for top foreign players.