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Go get paid! Emily Olsen here with Meg Linehan and Jeff Rueter — welcome to Full Time! We have long known that U.S. women’s national team defender Naomi Girma is invaluable.
She has led the San Diego Wave and the U.S. in her stalwart center back role.
She has an NCAA championship title, an NWSL Shield, two Defender of the Year awards and an Olympic gold medal. USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has called her the “best defender” she’s seen. “Ever.
” And now Chelsea Women are putting down a record-breaking investment to bring Girma to their team: a $1.1 million transfer fee , as Meg reported earlier today. The Women’s Super League side has agreed to terms with San Diego, where Girma is under contract until 2026, but her new contract with Chelsea is not yet finalized.
Advertisement Chelsea previously held the transfer record in 2024 when they signed Colombian striker Mayra Ramirez for more than half a million dollars from Levante in Liga F. That record stood for all of a couple of weeks before Bay FC nearly doubled the price tag, signing Racheal Kundananji and sending a $862,000 transfer fee to Madrid CFF. Girma was a significant factor for the U.
S. in its quest for Olympic gold last summer. But before that, she was the No.
1 pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, earning Rookie of the Year and her first Defender of the Year title in her first season. Chelsea weren’t the only ones chasing the 24-year-old. Current French leaders Lyon were also courting Girma and offered upward of $1 million to San Diego.
Strikers are measured by their goals, creative midfielders by their assists. Goalkeepers can point to saves and shutouts. Even with the advancement of metrics like expected goals, expected assists and expected goals prevented, the work of a world-class defender has been far more elusive to illustrate with numbers.
So how do you quantify a talent like Girma, who was one of the few bright spots in a forgettable World Cup for the U.S. and again in 2024 despite the San Diego Wave’s form? Stats like tackles and interceptions (and saves, for goalkeepers) are more indicative of a team under constant duress than individual quality.
But Girma is hard to bypass. Throw in her captain’s mentality and affable personality, and it’s no wonder that Girma is Option A for any Champions League contender needing to upgrade in the back. Girma’s record transfer fee should shock no one We always knew the $1 million barrier would be broken for women’s football transfer fees sooner rather than later — but you also really shouldn’t be surprised that it’s Naomi Girma setting the record either.
Girma’s followed in the footsteps of center backs and leaders before her, like Carla Overbeck and Becky Sauerbrunn , but she’s also shaping the present and future of women’s football on the field and with this transfer fee. I think it’s worth it to take a beat and contextualize the $1.1 million fee amid the state of transfers across global soccer.
While FIFA has yet to release its report for 2024, we can at least look at the mid-year report from last year’s summer window. Girma’s transfer fee from Chelsea would have been good for about 16% of that window’s total alone — and it’s safe to assume that with this new benchmark, there will be continued exponential growth for international transfers. NWSL teams have been major players in this market, from Bay FC making their move for Kundananji to Orlando Pride adding NWSL Championship MVP Barbra Banda , but it also still benefits the NWSL that multiple European teams were ready to pony up a cool mil for an American star.
🎧 The latest from the “Full Time” podcast : New Canada women’s coach Casey Stoney shares her vision for the team. This NWSL offseason marks a new era. As of last Wednesday, teams can no longer trade players without their consent under the new CBA — negotiated for and ratified by the league, players and clubs last year.
Gone are the days of trade windows, rookie drafts and restricted free agency. Deals can happen at any point until October’s roster freeze deadline. Advertisement U.
S. emerging talent Jaedyn Shaw took full advantage of the rule, completing a trade from the Wave to the North Carolina Courage last week — though she had requested a move (specifically to North Carolina) more than a year ago. The rule changes have led to quite the active offseason, which calls for another edition of Jeff Rueter’s “Moves I like” : We are not done celebrating Alyssa Naeher — even if she retired from international soccer in November.
On Saturday, U.S. Soccer named the former women’s national team goalkeeper its Female Player of the Year for 2024 .
It’s hard to argue with the accolades from her very successful year: The 36-year-old earned her latest nod thanks to a vote from national team coaches, players, U.S. Soccer board members, the U.
S. Soccer Athletes’ Council, NWSL head coaches, fans and select media members and administrators. Parting message: Former Arsenal and Bay FC defender Jen Beattie is retiring, the 33-year-old announced today.
Beattie reflected on her career as she enters a new phase of life, including her World Cup goal at Parc des Princes, sharing her cancer diagnosis in 2020 and the impact of her father’s legacy on her life. Messy Manchester: Rivalries — at their best — come with intense competition and a bit of chaos. Sunday’s Manchester derby in the WSL was no exception .
United leapfrogged City into third place in the standings with a 4-2 victory. The two fierce competitors will meet again tomorrow in the Women’s League Cup. The only question is which side Chloe Kelly will be on amid reports the City forward could be headed to United on a loan.
Staying on: Arsenal has opted for consistency amid change, hiring Renee Slegers as its head coach through the 2025-26 season. Slegers, 35, stepped into the interim role in October, following Jonas Eidevall’s resignation. The Athletic’ s Art de Roche explains why Slegers’ ruthlessness made her the perfect choice .
Cease and desist: Liverpool striker Olivia Smith has become the player defenders feel they need to foul to stop . So much so, head coach Matt Beard has made formal pleas to the Professional Game Match Officials Limited to review and protect the 20-year-old Canadian international from “serious injury.” 📫 Love Full Time? These stories can also be found on Yahoo’s women’s sports hub , in partnership with The Athletic.
Also, check out The Athletic ’s other newsletters . (Top photo: Yukihito Taguchi / Imagn Images).
