Two weeks ago, Cristiana Girelli made Juventus Women’s 4-0 win over Sassuolo a history-setting kind of night. The first day of February not only saw Girelli set the Bianconere’s record for all-time appearances, but she also hit the back of the net for the 150th time since donning the same colors in which her idol, Alessandro Del Piero, wore for so many years.
It could very well be the final time she scores for the same club she has achieved so much at.
According to reports from JuventusNews24.com’s
Mauro Munno and Miriana Cardinale of IlBianconero.com, the 35-year-old Girelli could very well be close to embarking on a goal she’s had for a good amount of time now: experience football outside of Italy. That’s right — Juventus Women’s all-time leader in goals and now appearances looks set to leave Turin and follow the same path as Italy women’s national team teammates Sofia Cantore and Lisa Boattin from over the summer of 2025 and head to the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States.
The way it will work is this, according to Munno: Girelli will take up the option to extend her contract that currently runs through the end of the current season by another year. But with that means Girelli will technically leave on loan and then play in the NWSL for the 2026 season.
The rumored destination, according to Tuttosport: One of the NWSL’s newest franchises, Bay FC, which will enter its third season of existence come the start of the 2026 campaign.
The way that all of this is possible is because unlike in Europe, the NWSL transfer window doesn’t end until mid-March considering the 2026 season doesn’t start until March 13.
To circle back, Girelli said the following during a November press conference when it comes to playing outside of Italy before her career comes to an end: “I’d like to gain some experience abroad before hanging up my boots. If the opportunity arose, I’d consider it.” Maybe, just maybe, we should have seen that as some sort of sign that something could be coming down the pipeline despite the fact that Girelli is somebody who is amongst the best players to ever wear the black and white stripes for Juventus Women.
With Girelli, who first joined Juventus Women in the summer of 2018 from Brescia, reportedly set to be on the move to the United States, Bianconere sporting chief Stefano Braghin bringing in a pair of strikers — including a loan deal for Ana Capeta, who scored in the first leg of the Women’s Champions League play-off round tie against Wolfsburg — makes a lot more sense. You can’t totally replace somebody of Girelli’s quality because she’s achieved so dang much in her seven-plus years in Turin, but somebody like Capeta has the experience and skill to at least try and come close along with the other options up front that manager Max Canzi has at his disposal.
Girelli recently switched representation to women’s football super agent Alan Naigeon of A&V Sports, an agency that, according to Munno, specializes in transatlantic transfers like the one she is reportedly set to embark on.
And more importantly, this is an opportunity for Girelli that might not come her way again, so you can completely understand that she wants to experience life outside of Serie A for the first time in her career. Because of it, the Italian (and former Juventus Women) contingent in the NWSL is about to grow by one.
