Manchester City Women have announced the signing of two-time FIFA World Player of The Year Carli Lloyd.

The US Women's National Team captain will join the FA Women's Super League side on a short-term deal which will see Lloyd compete in the FA WSL Spring Series and the FA Women's Cup.

She will also partake in the remainder of City's Champions League campaign before returning to the Houston Dash to compete in the National Women's Soccer League.

After intense speculation, City finally announced that Lloyd had penned a deal with the club and numerous reports state that the player turned down offers from a number of Europe's most high-profile clubs to join the Citizens.

The 34-year-old will link up with the Manchester City squad following the conclusion of the She Believes Cup in the United States. The US midfielder will battle it out against many of her new City teammates when the Americans face England on the 4 March 2017.

Lloyd is also expected to feature against Fortuna Hjorring in City's upcoming Champions League quarter-final tie.

Carli Lloyd's Impressive career to date

Many are calling this the biggest transfer the WSL has ever seen and it's hard to argue with that opinion when you look into the career the US captain has had so far.

Lloyd has scored 96 goals in 232 appearances since her debut for the USWNT in 2005, representing the side at three FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments, most notably scoring a 16 minute hat-trick in the 2015 final in Canada as she captained the US to its third World title.

She became only the second football player in history to score three goals in a senior FIFA World Cup final, after England's Sir Geoff Hurst.

The midfielder also helped the USWNT to back-to-back Olympic gold medals - scoring the winning goals at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games and breaking records once again as the only player in Olympic history to score the game-winning goal in two separate gold medal matches.

The New Jersey native played for the Chicago Red Stars, Sky Blue FC and the Atlanta Beat in the Women's Professional Soccer League, before her allocation to the Western New York Flash in 2013, where she helped the Flash to the regular season championship in the NWSL's inaugural season. In 2015, Lloyd was traded to the Dash prior to the 2015 season.

After an already distinguished career across the pond, Lloyd is looking for a new challenge in England.

A new challenge for the World Player of The Year

Following the transfer announcement, speaking to CityTV, Lloyd expressed just how thrilled she was to join the club, saying: "This is a unique opportunity and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of the club here in Manchester. I’m looking forward to kicking off."

Lloyd added:"I’m always looking for different challenges. I always want to continue to get better and look for ways where I am going to be able to push my game. Coming here and being part of City is going to do that. It’s an incredible, professional environment. Just being here for a short stint has been unbelievable. They’ve set the bar high."

The Rutgers graduate joins the Sky Blues following an impressive season for Nick Cushing's side.

It was certainly the campaign everything came to fruition for City - FA Women's Super League 1 champions, Continental Cup champions and their first venture into the UEFA Women's Champions League.

The seasoned international will be a great asset to a side who are now not only the best in England but also on course to becoming one of Europe's top teams.

Head coach Cushing spoke of his desire to add knowledge to his young side, who only entered the WSL three years ago, and Lloyd's signing adds "substantial experience" which he believes is crucial to the development of his team.

Cushing added: "Carli has had an incredible career and is recognised as one of the best in the world. There is much we can learn from her that will help us to improve as a team. We are all looking forward to working with her over the coming months."

Lloyd becomes the third US player to join the Women's Super League this year, with both Crystal Dunn and Heather O'Reilly moving to Chelsea and Arsenal Ladies respectively during the off-season.

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