Naomi Grace becomes first million dollar player in women’s soccer after moving from San Diego to Chelsea
American defender Naomi Grace has become women’s soccer’s first million dollar player after her move from the San Diego Wave to Chelsea on Sunday.
Chelsea have announced the signing of Magma, but the fee will be paid by The Athletic and BBC The English champions are among those who say they spent £900,000 ($1.1 million) on the transfer.
This is more than the world record $788,000 that Bay FC paid to sign Zambian striker Rachael Kundananji from Madrid CF last year.
This is the third time Chelsea have paid the world record for a player in 2020, after Denmark striker Pernil Harder ($355,000) and Colombia striker Mayra Ramirez ($542,000) last year.
The 24-year-old beauty has a contract with the Wave until 2026. She was also wanted by French club Lyon and Arsenal, Chelsea’s rivals in the Women’s Super League.
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Glory was presented in front of Chelsea fans during their match against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge WSL on Sunday.
“I’m so happy and excited to be here. It’s unreal,” said Glory.
“There are many things about Chelsea that made me come here – the culture, the winning mentality, the staff and the players. It’s a great environment to learn and grow. Now, I’m looking to do it. It was an easy choice for me.”
Girma made her debut for the national team in 2022 and played in 44 games with the United States and was part of the team that won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
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Girma was awarded the 2023 US Soccer Women’s Player of the Year award. She also won the Federation’s Young Player of the Year award in 2020. US coach Emma Hayes, who coached Chelsea at the Olympics, called Girma “my best defender”. I’ve never seen it.”
Chelsea’s head of women’s football, Paul Green, said: “Naomi is an international defender who is now coming into her prime.
“Her composure on the ball, her ability to read the game, combined with her speed and athleticism add a lot of quality to a very talented team.”
Glory was the captain of the Stanford team that won the national championship in 2019. She was selected in Wave 1 of the 2022 National Women’s Soccer League draft. In her first season, she was named the league’s Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.