What are the most expensive women’s football transfers of all time? The 50 highest fees in history

FT Desk

• Updated: 14 Apr 2026 08:20 CDT
• 7 min read

Analysis

Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle is the most expensive female footballer of all time, courtesy of her transfer from Tigres to the Orlando Pride in August 2025.

Ovalle joined the National Women's Soccer League team for a fee of €1.3m, and she became the second player to break the world transfer record during the 2025 summer window, following Olivia Smith.

Women's football has come on leaps and bounds over the past decade and female players have begun to receive huge recognition for their incredible talent.

England's victory in the delayed 2021 Women's European Championships took the game to new levels, with the attendance at Wembley's final breaking the record for a Euros final for both the men's and women's game.

However, despite increases to the finances in the game, such as prize money for the Women's FA Cup, there is still a huge disparity in the wealth between men's and women's football.

What are the biggest women's soccer transfers of all time?

Neymar’s record-breaking move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million is put into yet more perspective when comparing it to his female counterpart, Ovalle.

The women's world record transfer fee has been broken several times over the past few years, with Naomi Girma, Racheal Kundananji, Mayra Ramirez and Keira Walsh all briefly becoming the most expensive female player of all time since 2022, in addition to the aforementioned Smith.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the most expensive women's football transfers in history.

The 50 most expensive women's football transfers of all time

Who is the most expensive women's football transfer of all time?

Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle - €1.5m (Tigres to Orlando Pride, 2025)

Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle became the most expensive women's footballer of all time when the Orlando Pride bought her from Tigres for €1.5m in August 2025.

Who is the most expensive women's goalkeeper of all time?

Phallon Tullis-Joyce - €150k (OL Reign to Man Utd, 2023)

American Phallon Tullis-Joyce is the most expensive goalkeeper in women's football history. She cost Man Utd €150,000 when they signed her from OL Reign on Transfer Deadline Day in 2023.

Who is the most expensive women's defender of all time?

Naomi Girma - €1.07m (San Diego Wave to Chelsea, 2025)

Naomi Girma became the most expensive defender in women's football history when she swapped San Diego Wave for Chelsea in 2025. It cost the WSL giants €1.07m to bring her to England.

Who is the most expensive women's midfielder of all time?

Grace Geyoro - €1.15m (PSG to London City Lionesses, 2025)

Grace Geyoro is the most expensive midfielder in women's football history after joining the London City Lionesses from PSG in September 2025 for €1.15m.

Who is the most expensive women's forward of all time?

Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle (Tigres to Orlando Pride, 2025) - €1.3m

As the most expensive women's footballer in history, Lizbeth Jacqueline Ovalle is also the priciest forward ever.

What was the first world record fee for a women's footballer?

The former wife of Brazilian superstar Ronaldo Nazario, Milene Domingues, was signed by Rayo Vallecano for a world-record fee back in 2003, although much of their reasoning was simply for the potential economic gain the club could receive, rather than her ability on the pitch.

In fact, due to Spanish rules, Domingues was unable to actually play competitive games for the club. She could only feature in friendly matches.

She became famous long before her move to Spain, joining Corinthians' women’s side in her homeland of Brazil at the age of 14. She began to perform half-time ball-juggling entertainment and three years later she set a new world record of 55,187 consecutive keepy-uppies, a feat that took over nine hours to complete.

After marrying Ronaldo and carrying their child, she decided to return to football and joined Italian side Fiamma Monza while Ronaldo was at Inter Milan.

However, when Ronaldo left Inter to join Real Madrid, Domingues followed suit in departing Italy. Her arrival in the country provided an opportunity to raise the profile of the women’s game by adding the wife of Ronaldo to their league.

She chose to join Rayo Vallecano and earned a reported annual wage of €36,000 to become the most well-paid female player in the country. In fact, she was one of very few women to be paid to play football.

However, she soon discovered she wouldn’t be able to play professionally for the club as only Spanish players were allowed to play in the women’s top division at the time.

Due to her desire to play competitively, Domingues arranged to fly to her former club Fiamma Monza every weekend to ensure she was able to compete.

At the time she spoke of the issue, saying: “Football is my passion. I took three years out when I had Ronald and I missed it so much. It's something you can only do when you are young and I have to take advantage now Ronald doesn't need me so much.

“Also Italian football is more developed than Spanish women's football and the league here is much more competitive."

Domingues became the face of women’s football due to her marriage with Ronaldo, her ball-juggling record and her modelling.

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