Manchester United have confirmed captain Katie Zelem will leave the club following the expiry of her contract.
The midfielder joined United in 2018 and was part of their inaugural professional side that went on to win the FA Women’s Championship title that same season.
She was made captain in her second United campaign and departs after making 161 appearances and scoring 32 goals.
A club announcement read: “Everyone at Manchester United would like to place on record their thanks to Katie for her excellent service and wish her the best of luck in the next phase of her career.”
1️⃣6️⃣1️⃣ appearances3️⃣2️⃣ goals2️⃣ trophies 1️⃣ @KatieZelem
Thank you for everything, Zel ❤️#MUWomen
— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) June 27, 2024
She led her side to a club-best Women’s Super League season in 2022-23, when United finished second and secured Champions League football for the first time.
The 28-year-old, who also has 12 caps for England, made history with United last season when they beat Tottenham 4-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley to secure their first major trophy.
The announcement of Zelem’s departure follows Wednesday’s confirmation by the club that striker Lucia Garcia will be seeking a new opportunity after also electing to leave United at the end of her contract.
England’s first-choice goalkeeper Mary Earps, who in February 2021 signed an extension with United until June 2023 with the option for an extra year, is also rumoured to be on her way out and has been linked with a move to Paris St Germain.
Both exits come shortly after Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe came under fire for comments made to Bloomberg.
Questioned about the possibility of looking at separating the women’s team commercially from the men’s side, as Chelsea have announced plans to do, he said: “We haven’t gone into that level of detail with the women’s football team yet.
“We’ve been pretty much focused on how do we resolve the first-team issues, in that environment, and that’s been pretty full time for the first six months.”
Pressed on whether plans for the women’s side were “TBC”, he replied “correct”.