USWNT star Horan on his decision to join Lyon: I want to win UWCL

Lindsey Horan, a veteran of the United States women's national team, has defended her choice to join Lyon in January, stating that it was a chance she "couldn't refuse." 

Last month, Lyon confirmed Horan's loan transfer from the

Portland Thorns

until June 2023, marking the 27-year-first old's comeback to French football since her exit from Paris Saint-Germain in 2016. 

Horan has had excellent achievements with the Thorns in her country, winning six titles including the

NWSL

championship in the last six years, but she jumped at the chance to join Lyon and has her eyes are set on Champions League triumph.

"I'm very happy to be here. It's a real pleasure," Horan told Lyon's official website.

"When the opportunity arose to play for OL, I couldn't refuse. I wanted a new challenge.

"OL are one of the best clubs, if not the best. I came to grow and help the club, and in particular to win the UWCL, which I have never won."

Horan made her Lyon debut in a 1-0

Division 1 Feminine

win against Bordeaux on Sunday, coming off a bench. 

After Eugenie Le Sommer was sent off early in the second half, the 2021 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year assisted the French heavyweights to grind out a crucial win, putting Sonia Bompastor's team three points ahead of PSG at the top of the league after 13 matches. 

"It was a really nice feeling to be able to play my first minutes this Sunday in a Lyon jersey," Horan said of her first run-out for Lyon. "It may not be the start I imagined, playing with 10 against 11. But it was really a good moment."

When Lyon hosts Soyaux-Charente on Friday, Horan will be back in contention for a spot in Bompastor's team.

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