Ferns football captain Ali Riley leaves Chelsea for Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich has doubled its number of Kiwis by hiring captain of the Ferns Football team, Ali Riley.

The highly experienced left-back signing was announced Thursday (NZT) – the same day that Sarpreet Singh made his debut in the Bayern men's team in a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal at the International Champions Cup in Los Angeles.

Riley, 31, joined Bayern after one season with English Super League club Chelsea, where her playing time was limited due to injury. She made 17 appearances in all competitions, with only seven of these appearances as starters.

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"For a player of her age, it's absolutely essential that she play week after week, we can not guarantee the numbers with our squad," said Chelsea coach Emma Hayes.

"We could not guarantee that with the numbers we have and the lack of football in the Champions League.

"She had an eloquent impact on the community of Chelsea, throughout the club – for the number of compliments I received, from the media team, from the Department of Health. education, going through the commercial.

"They have all said that she is a great role model for the women's department, she's a lot of positive news and I wish her all the best in her next career change." success."

The trip to Germany is fantastic for Riley, a 129-time international, as Bayern is one of the best women's football clubs. They finished finalists of the Frauen-Bundesliga in the last three years and last season they went up to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

"I am very excited and I can not wait to start and be part of this great club," said Riley.

"Of course, I want to win titles and I am looking forward to playing in the Champions League, I want to bring my experience and my spirit and contribute to the success of the club."