Most expensive players in women's soccer: Orlando Pride sign Lizbeth Ovalle to break Arsenal, Olivia Smith record

Women's football has experienced significant growth in the last few years, with attendance records smashed across the world and complicated broadcast deals signed at increasing values.

With that comes more money, and as a result, player values are rising at a rapid rate.

The women's football transfer record was broken twice in the winter of 2024 alone, and now it has fallen for the third time in 2025.

The Sporting News brings you the list of most expensive players in women's football history, with the record having reportedly been broken by Lizbeth Ovalle, the new star of Orlando Pride.

MORE: Full schedule for USWNT in 2025, including SheBelieves Cup

Most expensive players in women's soccer

Lizbeth Ovalle became the most expensive player in the history of women's football when she signed for Orlando Pride from Tigres UANL for $1.5 million. The club did not confirm the fee, but they did state it was a world record.

Ovalle's deal surpasses the previous record holders of Naomi Girma and Olivia Smith.

American defender Girma became the first woman to break the $1m barrier when she transferred to Chelsea in January 2025.

The moment the world has been waiting for. Naomi Girma in Chelsea blue. 💙😍 pic.twitter.com/1w8aSZTdfa

— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) January 26, 2025

Girma's deal is said to have cost the Women's Super League side $1.1m (€1.06m / £890,000). It beat last winter's pair of NWSL swoops for Zambia internationals Racheal Kundananji and Barbra Banda, while Chelsea were also in the mix with their splash a year ago for Colombian forward Mayra Ramirez.

That was then broken six months later as 20-year-old Canada international Smith was transferred between English clubs, moving from Liverpool to Arsenal on a reported fee of $1.36 million (€1.17m / £1m).

Table updated as of August 22, 2025, with publicly reported figures only.

Who is Lizbeth Ovalle?

Lizbeth Jaqueline Ovalle is a 25-year-old forward. She is Tigres' all-time leading goal-scorer, having recorded 136 goals and 103 assists across 294 appearances in all competitions for the club.

The Mexico international from Aguascalientes has played 81 times for the national team, scoring 22 goals. She was named in the team of the tournament at the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup.

A six-time league champion in Mexico, Ovalle is recognised as one of the finest attacking players in the world. Mark Wilf, Orlando Pride owner and chairman, described her as "a world-class talent and a proven winner, and her arrival in Orlando marks another step on our journey to position the Pride among the elite clubs in global women's soccer."

Haley Carter, VP of soccer operations and sporting director at the Florida franchise, said: "This move represents our unwavering commitment to elevating women's football and investing in world-class talent.

"Transactions of this magnitude are also inherently complex, requiring lengthy negotiations and patience from all parties involved. We are deeply grateful to Jacquie and her agent, Jorge Rodriguez, for believing in our vision and putting their trust in what we have built and are continuing to grow here in Orlando. This signing signals our ambition to compete at the highest level while also advancing the women's game on a global scale."

Who is Chelsea record signing Naomi Girma?

Girma is considered one of the best defenders in the world, and her exclusion from the Ballon d'Or shortlist in 2024 was widely regarded as a massive snub. She helped lead the U.S. women to a gold medal at the 2024 summer Olympics, during which former Chelsea head coach and current USWNT boss Emma Hayes called her "the best defender I've ever seen."

The news of her transfer to Chelsea represented a massive moment in women's football for a number of reasons. It signals not only that there is money present in the club game to fund such a move, but especially for a defender, who generally do not find themselves the subject of record-breaking transfer fees in the men's game.

It was also the latest in a career of watershed moments for Girma personally. Selected with the first overall pick in the 2022 NWSL draft (an event that has since been scrapped) out of Stanford, Girma won NWSL Defender of the Year in her first two professional seasons alongside winning Rookie of the Year in 2022.

She won U.S. Soccer Player of the Year in 2023, signaling her status as the best player on one of the world's top-ranked teams.

Girma joined fellow USWNT players Catarina Macario and Mia Fishel at Chelsea, hoping to help lead the Blues to a coveted first Champions League title.

Most expensive American women's players

In becoming the most expensive player in women's football history, Girma also, of course, became the most expensive American player. She breaks the record previously held by Lindsey Horan who moved to French side Lyon in the summer of 2023.

Surprisingly, there aren't that many USA internationals on the all-time list of most expensive transfers. This is because until recently, nearly all USWNT stars played their club ball exclusively for domestic-based clubs. Transfers within the NWSL, a single-entity league, are often either not publicly disclosed or not considered to be cash deals, and thus wouldn't qualify for this list.

If more top American players transfer abroad like Girma or Horan, you will likely see them crop up on the all-time list in increasing numbers.

Table updated as of January 26, 2025 with publicly reported figures only.