Olivia Smith made history by becoming the most expensive player in women’s football as she joined Arsenal from Liverpool.
The Canadian forward became the first woman player to bag a world record transfer fee of 1 million pounds (USD 1.34 million).
Here We Go: Olivia Smith To Arsenal
While the details of the signing has not been made public yet, it has been reported from reliable sources that the contract will keep the 20-year-old Simth in Arsenal for four years.
“It’s always been a dream to compete at the top level in England and Europe. I’m thrilled to be joining Arsenal and look forward to helping the team chase more trophies.”
Smith, who became Canada’s youngest-ever senior international at just 15, has impressed one and all with her recent performances. After a season with Penn State, she switched to Sporting Lisbon in 2023 where scored 16 goals in 28 games. She then joined Liverpool, scoring nine goals in 25 appearances.
“Olivia is an exciting young player and we believe she can make a big contribution here at Arsenal,” head coach Renee Slegers said.
“We’ve been impressed by her mentality and character, excelling in two European leagues at such a young age.”
Smith’s deal highlights the rapid increase in spending in women’s football with transfer records regularly broken in recent years.
Zambia striker Racheal Kundananji set a new record when she joined Bay FC from Madrid CFF for USD 788,000 in 2024. That figure was quickly surpassed when Chelsea paid USD 1.1 million (900,000 pounds) for Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave in January 2025.
Also Read: Top 5 Most Costly Transfers In Football History: Neymar To Mbappe
England’s Keira Walsh left Manchester City for Barcelona in 2022 for a deal worth USD 513,000, and Chelsea broke the record again in 2024 when signing Mayra Ramirez from Levante for 542,000.
To put into perspective, the most expensive women’s player was Denmark’s Pernille Harder, who joined Chelsea from Wolfsburg for USD 355,000, as recently as 2020.
