Caroline Weir: “I always dreamed of being a professional footballer...I thought I would play for Real Madrid one day.”

Manchester City midfielder Caroline Weir recently sat down for a podcast with hosts Gordon McColm and Robbie Hanratty from Anyone’s Game, a Scottish women’s football newsletter.

Speaking on a wide range of topics, Weir briefly touched on her aspirations as a child and her affection for Real Madrid:

I think I always dreamed of being a professional footballer. That was my ambition from a really young age. And I’m not quite sure exactly where that came from because that wasn’t really a thing when I was growing up — professional female footballers. I think I probably just thought that I was gonna play with the guys and I would play for Real Madrid one day with all my favorite players.

Weir’s Madridismo wasn’t exactly a secret before this. She has previously declared that Zinedine Zidane was her favorite player growing up:

My first kit had Zidane on the back when I was five or six and I watched all of his games for Real Madrid and France. He was in his prime back then. I remember in the 2002 Champions League Final when he played at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

It was Real Madrid against Bayer Leverkusen and he scored a volley with his left foot — it came up in the air and he volleyed it into the top corner. I was six and I remember thinking: “That was sick!” especially as he’s not left-footed as well!

It’s quite a famous goal and one of those moments I remember quite well.

He was my biggest inspiration football-wise.

You can see some of Zidane’s influence on her style, as Weir is a silky central midfielder that is tasked with being the creative hook of her side.

And she can score bangers, too.

Manchester City would be crazy to let her go but you never know. If the stars align, Weir might just be able to fulfill her childhood dream of playing for Real Madrid one day.