Barcelona Women's five most expensive transfers of all time

Cameron Smith

• 17 Oct 2024 16:33 BST
• 5 min read

Barcelona Women, more commonly known as Barcelona Femeni, are currently the best women’s football team on the planet.

They won the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Champions League finals, having finished second in 2022, while they also tasted victory in 2021. As a result, Barca reached the final in four consecutive seasons as they usurped Lyon as the most dominant team in women’s football.

The Blaugrana also won five consecutive Liga F titles between 2020 and 2024, although they haven’t spent that much in the transfer market.

Unlike their WSL counterparts, Barcelona have mostly relied on free transfers and the use of their famed academy, but they did hold the transfer record for the most expensive women’s football player in history until early 2024.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through Barcelona Femeni’s five most expensive transfers of all time.

5. Lieke Martens - €30k (from Rosengard, 2017)

Dutch winger Lieke Martens joined Barcelona from Rosengard in 2017, with the Spanish outfit spending €30,000 to sign her.

Two years prior, Martens made history by scoring the Netherlands’ first-ever goal at a Women’s World Cup.

She also won The Best FIFA Women’s Player of the Year award and was voted as the European Championship Player of the Tournament in 2017, the year she joined Barcelona.

Martens left Barcelona to join PSG in 2022.

4. Mapi Leon - €50k (from Atletico Madrid, 2017)

Barcelona signed Mapi Leon for €50,000 in 2017, poaching her from Atletico Madrid after she enjoyed an impressive stint in the capital.

This deal was a monumental one as Leon became the first female player in Spanish football history to move clubs for a transfer fee.

Leon was included in the FIFA FifPro Women’s World XI in 2022 and she won her fifth Spanish top flight title and her third Women’s Champions League title in 2024.

= Kika Nazareth - €400k (from Benfica, 2024)

Barcelona bucked their own trend of spending frugally in the summer of 2024 when they splashed €400,000 each on two players. On July 4, the Blaugrana announced the signing of young attacker Kika Nazareth from Benfica.

The Portugal international arrived in Catalunya off the back of a supremely impressive campaign for the Eagles, scoring 25 goals and assisting eight in 37 games. Her transfer fee has also been reported as €500k and even €650k but €400k is generally regarded as the most accurate number when it comes to the money paid upfront.

2. Ewa Pajor - €400k (from Wolfsburg, 2024)

Polish superstar Ewa Pajor also arrived at Barcelona in the summer of 2024 for €400,000. The striker joined her compatriot Robert Lewandowski after nine trophy-laden years at Wolfsburg during which she scored 96 goals in 121 appearances.

The five-time Frauen-Bundesliga winner enjoyed a stunning start to life in Spain, finding the net nine times in her first six games for the club.

1. Keira Walsh - €470k (from Man City, 2022)

Keira Walsh became the most expensive women's footballer of all time when Barcelona bought her in 2022, nearly doubling the previous record.

Walsh was keen to leave Man City with just one year remaining on her contract and interest from several top European clubs, including Chelsea and Barcelona.

The last of Barcelona's bids was a reported €470,000, a world-record fee, and it was accepted shortly before the transfer deadline on 7 September 2022. She won the Women’s Champions League during her debut campaign in Spain and again the following season, though she did eventually lose her transfer record to Mayra Ramirez and Racheal Kundananji.

The five most expensive Barcelona Femeni signings of all time