When Caroline Weir’s name appeared on the 2025 Ballon d’Or nomination list, she had to check that it was real. No Scottish woman had ever been nominated for the award before, and Weir had recently finished her first season back for Real Madrid following an 11-month lay-off after rupturing her ACL.
But defying the odds and making history are not new themes in Weir’s career. The 30-year-old started playing football in the garden with her siblings in her home town of Dunfermline when she was a toddler. At primary school she joined a local boys’ team, and aged 10, was scouted for Hibernian Girls’ under-13s.
After finishing her A-levels in Scotland at 18, she signed for Arsenal, spending two seasons in north London before spells at Bristol City and Liverpool. Four influential years at Manchester City followed before Weir joined her dream club, Real Madrid, in 2022.
With 38 goals in 124 appearances in all competitions for City, Weir became known for her ability to score sensational goals in the moments that mattered the most. Two of the goals she scored against Manchester United were nominated for FIFA Puskas Awards in 2020 and 2021 respectively. She became the first City player, male or female, to be nominated.It is her Scottish identity, Weir believes, that brings out the best in her as a player. “We’re used to being underdogs and being humble,” she told The Observer.
And earlier this month, Weir hit one of the biggest milestones in her career yet when she was named Scotland Women’s captain full-time ahead of the squad’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg.
“I’m honoured and delighted to be named captain of the Scotland Women’s National Team. It’s such a proud moment for me and my family,” Weir said. “Every opportunity to represent Scotland is a privilege and to do it as captain is even more special and a responsibility that I’m excited to embrace.”
Weir, who represented Scotland at all youth levels, has been instrumental in the nation’s biggest moments, scoring the only goal of the side’s first-ever win at a European Championship finals against Spain in 2017, and playing in all three of Scotland’s matches at the 2019 World Cup – the only time that the nation has qualified for the women’s tournament.
As well as making Scottish women’s football history, what made the Ballon d’Or nomination even more remarkable was the fact that 2024-25 was a comeback season for Weir, who was out for almost a year with an ACL injury.
“I had no idea what ACL rehab really involved,” she said. “I always prided myself on being quite a consistent player, and with an injury like that, it’s so up and down. It was a really tough time.
“I was ready to go again, and after the break in the summer, my mindset totally shifted because now we weren't just rehabbing, we were preparing to perform. I felt even better physically.”
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And it shows on the pitch. At the end of this season’s new Women’s Champions League knockout-phase play-offs, Weir sits joint-second on the list of top goalscorers in the main draw of this season’s competition, behind Arsenal’s Alessia Russo and alongside Bayern Munich’s Pernille Harder and Roma’s Evelyne Viens with five goals.
But scoring in the important moments is nothing new for her. And it was during her four years at Manchester City that she truly made her mark on the WSL.
“I think that’s where my career moved up a level,” she said. “Breaking into English teams when I was younger, I had to find a bit of resilience and a bit of grit.
“City taught me what it was like to be a proper professional footballer alongside so many experienced players that I learned from,” Weir said.
“Manchester really felt like home. I loved the club and had a great time there. But there was just something that I knew I wanted to change.
“Coming to Real Madrid was a dream of mine. It’s the biggest club in the world and it was a project I wanted to be part of and try to win things.”
Early on at Madrid, Weir cemented her reputation as a player who thrived in high-pressure moments. In August 2022, Weir scored the only goal of a Champions League qualifier against the club she had left just six weeks before, to knock City out of the competition.
“That goal came a lot sooner than I thought it was going to,” Weir said. “I was just enjoying the change, enjoying being here and having the freedom to play a little bit more.”
But what is it about those big moments that fuel her?
“It's the moments that change games, especially the big ones - I love the big games. They’re the ones that I thrive in, when there’s a lot on the line and I feel the pressure and it’s a bit more intense,” Weir told The Observer.
“I love the pressure. There's just something about big games, finals and Champions League games that I love.”
And that is something that Weir has felt since she was a child, whether it was playing at primary school or for her local boys’ team.
“I just loved the game itself. I loved scoring goals and I loved practising. I knew it was my favourite sport from very early on.”
Weir puts her competitiveness down to growing up as one of four, where everything from playing football in the garden to who had the TV remote was a competition.
“I think it must have driven our parents mad. But looking back now, it’s a really good thing,” she said. “I just want to be the best and push myself to my full potential.”
Photograph by Manu Reino/DeFodi via Getty Images