The transfer market in the women’s game has taken a long time to evolve to where it is today.
For a years female players would be bound to the lengths of their contracts, with clubs not willing to spend additional finance on transfer fees to sign new recruits. However, in recent times that has changed. Players have started to realise their own worth, with the market growing in value with every passing year.
We are still awaiting the first £1 million women’s player – although that now appears to be a question of when, rather than if. But who currently holds the transfer record in the women’s game?
The most expensive women’s player of all time
The current record holder for the most expensive transfer fee in history is Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji. Kundananji, 24, cost American club Bay FC £685,000 (€805,000) when she signed from Spanish club Madrid CFF.
The striker became the first ever African player to hold the title – in either the men’s or women’s game. Her international teammate Barba Banda makes it a Zambia one-two on the current list.
Banda’s move from Shanghai to Orlando Pride, another NWSL club, had an attached transfer fee of £582,000.
Both transfers took place in 2024, leading many to speculate that the first £1million deal could be closer than previously thought.
The Kundananji transfer was actually the second time the record had been smashed in 2024, with a WSL club previously in top spot on the all-time list.
When Chelsea signed Mayra Ramirez from Levante in the January window, the Colombian cost £426,000 – a world record until Kundananji claimed set a new benchmark the following month.
Which English players have held the world transfer record?
Until Ramirez signed for the Blues, the world record spot was occupied by a current Lioness.
Keira Walsh‘s move from Manchester City to Barcelona, only weeks after helping England win Euro 2022, cost the Catalan club £400,000 (€470,000). Walsh had previously been at City for eight years and had a year left on her contract.
It was a transfer that smashed the previous record at the time, which was Pernille Harder’s £250,000 switch to Chelsea in 2020.
The record domestic deal exclusively between two WSL clubs was Bethany England‘s £250,000 transfer in January 2023, when she moved across London from Chelsea to Tottenham. The big fee proved worthwhile to Spurs, with England’s goals almost single-handedly seeing them avoid relegation that season.
| Rank | Price | Player | From | To |
| 1 | £685K | Racheal Kundananji | Madrid CFF | Bay FC |
| 2 | £582K | Barbra Banda | Shanghai | Orlando Pride |
| 3 | £426K | Mayra Ramirez | Levante | Chelsea |
| 4 | £400K | Keira Walsh | Manchester City | Barcelona |
| 5 | £390K | Tarciane | Corinthians | Houston Dash |
| 6 | £384K | Lena Oberdorf | VfL Wolfsburg | Bayern Munich |
| 7 | £378K | Priscila | SC Internacional | Club America |
| 8 | £339K | Kika Nazareth | Benfica | Barcelona |
| 9 | £338K | Ewa Pajor | VfL Wolfsburg | Barcelona |
| 10 | £300K+ (add-ons) | Jill Roord | VfL Wolfsburg | Manchester City |
| Row 11 – Cell 0 | Row 11 – Cell 1 | Row 11 – Cell 2 | Row 11 – Cell 3 | Row 11 – Cell 4 |