According to The Guardian, Arsenal have agreed to the first-ever £1 million transfer in women’s football after Liverpool approved a record-breaking offer for Canada forward Olivia Smith.
The 20-year-old will thus become the first female player in history to touch the £1 million mark. The same feat was attained in men’s football in 1979 when Trevor Francis moved from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest.
Sources claim that the amount agreed upon by Arsenal and the Reds is more than the 1.1 million US dollars Chelsea paid in January to recruit American centre-back Naomi Girma, who at the time established a new women’s world record.
In her first season in the English game, Smith scored seven goals in 20 Women’s Super League games for the Reds, who placed seventh in the WSL last season. She was responsible for just under one-third of the team’s league goals during the season.
The youthful forward, who is capable of playing both as a winger and central striker, joined the Reds from Portuguese club Sporting CP in July 2024 for a club-record fee estimated to be slightly over 200,000 Pounds.
She is believed to have several years left on her contract, but the Gunners are willing to pay a substantial amount to acquire her services.
According to reports, Liverpool first turned down many offers from other teams for Smith because they were judged unsatisfactory. However, thanks to the deal with the north London club, the Merseyside team will now get five times the amount they paid for Smith just a year ago.
