How women’s transfer record has skyrocketed with Ovalle’s $1.5m move to NWSL

The women’s transfer record had barely moved over the past few decades but, like London buses, a host of major deals have come along at once in the last five years.

In January 2025, USWNT defender Naomi Girma broke the $1 million barrier when she joined Chelsea from San Diego Wave in a deal worth around £900,000 ($1.1m). But then, less than two months after winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League, Arsenal broke the £1 million barrier to sign striker Olivia Smith from Women’s Super League rivals Liverpool for £1.1m ($1.33m.)

And now, Mexico forward Lizbeth Ovalle has moved the record on again with a $1.5m transfer from Tigres to NWSL side Orlando Pride.

Yes, there is still a long way to go before we get near the men’s record, set by Neymar’s $241m move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. But the rate at which the women’s transfer record is being broken is rapid. Here is an overview of its evolution and those players responsible for taking it to new levels.

*All fees are approximate and based on reporting, but unconfirmed by clubs

Milene Domingues – Fiammamonza to Rayo Vallecano
$310,000 (€235,000), 2002

Also known as “Mika,” the Brazil international became the first women’s player to command a fee above €200,000 when she left Italian club Fiammamonza to sign for Rayo Vallecano in 2002. The midfielder moved to be with her then-husband, Selecao legend Ronaldo Nazario, who also left Italy for Spain in order to join Real Madrid.

Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out due to a Spanish FA rule stating that clubs were prohibited from fielding foreign players in competitive matches. Milene therefore never played a single game for Rayo and instead was given dispensation to fly back to Italy to rejoin Fiammamonza.

Nevertheless, she held on to the world transfer record for almost two decades.

Pernille Harder – VfB Wolfsburg to Chelsea
$334,000 (€280,000), 2020

After rising to prominence in Germany with Wolfsburg, the Denmark international became the new holder of the record when she departed for Women’s Super League giants Chelsea after agreeing a three-year contract in September 2020.

The two-time UEFA Women’s Player of the Year subsequently went on to collect three WSL/FA Cup doubles over three consecutive seasons with the Blues, before moving back to Germany with Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023.

Keira Walsh – Manchester City to Barcelona
$470,000 (€400,000), 2022

The England midfielder shattered the world record in the summer of 2022 when she moved from Manchester City to join all-conquering Barcelona, who had previously become the first Spanish women’s club to win the European treble after claiming the league title, Champions League and Copa de la Reina the previous season.

Walsh was also riding high after starting every single game for the Lionesses in their triumphant run to glory at the 2022 European Championships, and duly sealed her €400,000 move (plus another €62,000 in possible add-ons) to Liga F during the final few days of the summer transfer window.

Mayra Ramírez – Levante to Chelsea
$488,610 (€450,000), 2024

Walsh’s record transfer lasted 18 months as it was surpassed at the start of the 2024 January window when Chelsea went big in order to land Ramírez from Spanish top-tier side Levante.

The 24-year-old had already scored six goals in seven games in Liga F when the Blues set a new benchmark in the transfer world by parting with an initial €450,000 plus a further €50,000 in potential add-ons.

Ramírez also became the most-expensive women’s player in British history (exceeding the €350,000 deal that took Jill Roord from Wolfsburg to Manchester City in 2023.)

Racheal Kundananji – Madrid CFF to Bay FC
$787,600 (€735,000), 2024

Kundananji is one of the most prolific strikers in women’s football and scored 33 goals in 43 league games for Madrid CFF before opting to move to NWSL and sign a four-year contract with San Francisco-based Bay FC

The base fee of €735,000 (plus a further €75,000 in add-ons) smashed the women’s transfer record by a significant margin, while the talented Zambia international also became the first African player, female or male, to break a world transfer record.

In March, her international teammate Barbra Banda moved to Orlando Pride from Shanghai Shengli for €675,000 ($740,000), but that only counted as the second-highest fee in women’s transfer history.

Naomi Girma – San Diego Wave to Chelsea
$1.1m (€1.04m), 2025

Seen as the world’s best defender, Girma is only 24 and became the first $1m transfer in women’s football when she opted to head to Chelsea in January.

The United States international was under contract with the San Diego Wave through to 2026, but made history as the NWSL club allowed her to depart for world-record fee.

Olivia Smith – Liverpool to Arsenal
$1.33m (€1.15m), 2025

The 20-year-old Canada international, who made her senior international debut at the age of 15, signed for Liverpool in July 2024 in what was a club-record transfer. But while Liverpool could only muster a mid-table finish and struggled to make headway in any of the domestic cup competitions in her debut season, Smith was a standout player for her team in 2024-25 and ended as their top goal scorer in both the WSL and across all competitions.

Smith’s performances persuaded Arsenal to break the world record to land her on July 17, having already bolstered their Champions League-winning squad with the addition of England international Chloe Kelly from Manchester City and former Liverpool captain Taylor Hinds, both on free transfers.

Lizbeth Ovalle – Tigres to Orlando Pride
$1.5m (€1.28m), 2025

Ovalle, 25, has been at Tigres since making her professional debut in 2017 and has won six Liga MX Femenil titles and three Campeón de Campeonas trophies. While, at national team level for Mexico, she’s earned over 50 appearances and finished as a member of the best XI in last year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup.

She also became the first Mexican player, female or male, to break a world transfer record.