Naomi Girma became the first woman to be transferred for more than $1 million when the San Diego Wave sold her to Chelsea for $1.1 million.
The previous record was the fee of $788,000 Bay FC paid Madrid CFF last year to sign Zambia striker Rachael Kundananji.
Girma, 24, was the 2022 NWSL Rookie of the Year with the Wave after signing out of Stanford. She repeated as NWSL Defender of the Year in 2023 when the second-year Wave won the NWSL Shield as the regular-season champion. She was still under contract with the Wave through 2026, but she requested before the 2024 season to be transferred to a foreign team.
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