Report: Naomi Girma to Join Chelsea, Become 1st Woman to Earn $1M+ Transfer Fee

Chelsea have reportedly agreed to pay the San Diego Wave a record-setting $1.1 million transfer fee for USWNT star defender Naomi Girma, per Meg Linehan of The Athletic.

Girma—who is still negotiating a new contract with the Blues, per that report—would become the first woman to ever secure a transfer fee over $1 million.

According to Linehan, Lyon was also in hot pursuit of Girma and was willing to exceed $1 million in a transfer fee, and interest around Europe was widespread, though Arsenal reportedly were “not among the final contenders.”

Girma is one of the top defenders in the world and arguably the best center-back in the women’s game at the moment.

“She’s the best defender I’ve ever seen,” USWNT head coach Emma Hayes told reporters during the 2024 Paris Olympics, as Girma played every minute for her country and earned a gold medal in the process. “Ever.”

Alongside that gold medal, her career accomplishments include 44 career appearances for the USWNT; winning the NWSL Shield and Challenge Cup with the Wave; the Women’s College Cup at Stanford; and being named the 2022 NSWL Rookie of the Year, the NSWL Defender of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 and the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2023.

The fact that she wasn’t among the finalists for the 2024 women’s Ballon d’Or was shocking. Her USWNT teammates, Sophia Smith, Lindsey Horan and Mallory Swanson, were all ranked in the top 10.

“Yes, we could sit here all day and say Girma should be there—which she should—so for that reason, we’re still not getting all those things right in the women’s game,” Hayes told reporters at the time. “But recognizing the talent of our players on the world stage is something that I know our players are extremely proud of, so really good all round for us.”

But Chelsea clearly see Girma as one of the sport’s truly elite players, breaking transfer records to bring her to London.