Once viewed as an understudy to the men’s game by some, women’s football has taken significant strides in development during the course of the last half-decade. Throughout the globe, women’s football clubs are now eager to spend big on their transfer targets.
Time and again, the world record transfer fee for a women’s football player has been shattered. BolaNews presents the list of the ten most expensive transfers in the history of the women’s game.
10. Mayra Ramirez ($486,000 – Levante to Chelsea)
In January 2024, Mayra Ramirez’s $486,000 move from Levante to Chelsea broke the world record transfer fee in women’s football, eclipsing Keira Walsh’s signing with FC Barcelona. Just over a year later, Ramirez barely makes the list of the top 10 costliest female footballers on the planet.
9. Priscilla ($497,000 – SC International to Club America)
Following her scintillating performance during the 2023 Copa Libertadores Femenina, where she netted eight goals in six matches, Priscilla was signed by Mexican side Club America. The Liga MX Femenil outfit paid Brazilian side SC Internacional $497,000 to acquire the Brazilian international.
8. Lily Yohannes ($526,000 – Ajax to Olympique Lyon)
Ahead of the 2025-26, French champions Olympique Lyon bolstered their squad with the addition of midfielder Lily Yohannes. They paid $526,000 for the United States international, snapping her up from Dutch side AFC Ajax. The Eritrean-born midfielder is the most expensive teenage footballer in the history of the women’s game.
7. Barbra Banda ($740,000 – Shanghai Shengli to Orlando Pride)
National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) club Orlando Pride secured Barbra Banda’s signature for a mouth-watering $740,000 in 2024. Her signing proved to be a bargain for Pride, who went in to bag their maiden NWSL Shield and Championship titles. Banda, meanwhile, claimed the CAF Women’s Player of the Year, BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year and a podium finish in the Ballon d’Or rankings that same year.
6. Racheal Kundananji ($862,000 – Madrid CFF to Bay FC)
Zambian striker Racheal Kundananji grabbed all the headlines in February 2024 when she transferred from Madrid CFF to Bay FC for the record-breaking $862,000. It was the first time that a women’s football transfer got anywhere near the one million mark. Kundananji remains the costliest African women’s football player.
5. Keira Walsh ($884,000 – FC Barcelona to Chelsea)
As if moving to FC Barcelona for a then unprecedented $470,000 was not enough, Keira Walsh made another big money transfer. The playmaker returned to England, not under Arsenal’s books, but instead their city rivals Chelsea. The London club paid $884,000 to sign Walsh from Spanish giants FC Barcelona, making her the most expensive European player in women’s football.
4. Tarciane ($979,000 – Houston Dash to Olympique Lyon
Eight-time UEFA Women’s Champions League winners Olympique Lyon paid $979,000 to sign Brazilian defender Tarciane from Houston Dash. No female Brazilian football player has ever cost more. Of course, Brazilian players rarely come cheap with Terciane’s compatriot, Neymar Jr, costing €222 million in 2017.
3. Naomi Girma ($1.1 million – San Diego Wave)
The prospect of a women’s footballer costing more than a million U.S. dollars seemed far-fetched just a few years ago. However, this year, USWNT star Naomi Girma etched her name in the annals of football history by breaching the seven-figure mark. With her $1.1 million move from San Diego Wave to Chelsea Women’s FC, she became the first female footballer to cost over one million US dollars.
2. Olivia Smith ($1.36 million – Liverpool to Arsenal)
Fresh from winning their second UEFA Women’s Champions League crown, Arsenal Women’s FC secured the services of Canadian star Olivia Smith for 1.36 million. The London-based giants did not have to cross borders to sign her, taking her off English rivals Liverpool.
1. Lizbeth Ovalle ($1.5 million – UANL Tigres to Orlando Pride)
Olivia Smith’s title as the most expensive transfer in women’s football history lasted just over a month before Lizbeth Ovalle smashed the record in August 2025.
The Mexican forward broke the bank with her $1.5 million transfer from Liga MX Femenil club UANL Tigres to NWSL champions Orlando Pride. Her signing came at the perfect time for Pride, as their star striker, Barbra Banda, had been ruled out for the rest of the campaign due to injury.
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