From a NWSL draft pick in 2022 to world’s most highest paid women footballer: How 24-year-old US defender Naomi Girma ranks up in the footballing charts

In 2017, Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr. became the most expensive footballer in the world with a 200 million pounds transfer fee from Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain. In women’s football, Brazilian midfielder Milene Domingues had become the first women footballer to strike a high value deal with a 310,000 dollars deal with her move from Italian club Fiammamonza to Spanish club Rayo Vallecano in 2002. The first time a women footballer crossed the 5,00,00 dollars mark was in 2022 when England midfielder Keira Walsh was signed by Barcelona from Manchester City at a transfer fee of 513,000 dollars. Colombian forward Mayra Ramirez’s transfer fee from Spanish club Levante to Chelsea surpassed Walsh’s fee with a fee of 542,000 dollars in 2024 before Kundananji made a new world record transfer the same year. Chelsea were in a race with Lyon FC to sign Girma and the team, which now sits atop the WSL leaderboard with 34 points, sees the presence of 2022 women;s Euro Cup winner Millie Bright. “I’m really excited to play alongside Millie (Bright). There are so many players in this team that have so much experience, a lot of young players who have been amazing as well, so [I am] just really excited to be in with the group,” Girma told BBC.

Girma was the first pick in the NWSL draft for San Diego Wave in 2022 and made her NWSL debut in May, 2022. According to The Analyst, Girma had the most possession in the defensive third (304) and was the joint-highest progressive ball carries player (548) in NWSL career. Che also ranks among the top four in the competition history in terms of blocks (55 and third), clearances 9287 and second) and successful passes (3213 and fourth).

The 24-year-old has played in 44 matches for the US women’s national team and was part of the pre-quarters finishing USA team in 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where USA lost to Sweden in pre-quarters. The defender played in all the matches in USA’s title-run in the Paris Olympics including the team’s 1-0 win over Brazil in the final. According to The Analyst, Girma played for the most minutes (600) in Paris and made the highest number of passes (600), carries (200) and clearances (31) than any other women footballer in Paris. She also had the best pass accuracy of 95 percent in Paris. In Paris, Girma played under coach Emma Hayes, who was the Chelsea FC manager from 2012 to 2024. “She is the best defender I’ve ever seen. Ever. I’ve never seen a player as good as her in the back,” Hayes had said during the Paris Olympics.

Girma, who was named in the US soccer women’s player of the year in 2023, had scored twice for USA and was under contract with Wave, the Challenge Cup champions last year, till 2026 before the transfer happened. Last year, she had the best pass accuracy in NWSL with pass accuracy of 91.4 percent in the US league and played for more than 1715 minutes for the Wave as per The Analyst. As per the website, Girma also ranked among the top five players in the league for the blocks with 22 blocks and winning 67 percent of duels won in all competitions for the club.

Under new coach Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea have only conceded second-fewest goals in WSL (six) and have the second most clean sheet (seven). “Naomi has showcased her talent in the NWSL winning various individual awards and delivered on the international stage for the USA, including this summer winning a gold medal at the Olympics. She is undoubtedly ready for this next step in her career and we are delighted it will be with Chelsea,” said Paul Green head of women’s football, Chelsea.