The Washington Spirit have reportedly signed 18-year-old Paraguayan star Claudia Martínez from Club Olimpia in Paraguay for a $950,000 transfer fee, according to reporting by ESPN.
The transfer fee would
be among the top ten transfer fees in women’s soccer history. The record was most recently set by Lizbeth Ovalle’s $1.5 million transfer fee to the Orlando Pride.
Martínez will be the first Paraguayan player to play in the NWSL. She has scored 10 goals in 25 appearances with Olimpia.
Internationally, Martínez has been a notable player for Paraguay’s Youth National teams, including scoring 10 goals in the U-17 South American Championship.
With Paraguay’s Senior National team, Martínez had a breakout performance at the 2025 Copa América Femenina, where she tied for Golden Boot with Amanda Gutierres from Brazil, both scoring six goals.
Martínez scored a hat-trick in the tournament in a 4-0 win over Bolivia. She also become the youngest player to score multiple goals in a match in the tournament at 17 years old.
Martínez signed a new multi-year contract with Club Olimpia very recently in December. The contract reportedly included a multi-million dollar termination clause, although the clause was not exercised in the transfer to the Spirit.
The NWSL has an net transfer limit for teams of $605,000 in 2026. To stay below the limit, the Spirit will pay Olimpia $500,000 this season and $450,000 next season.
The transfer fee also includes a sell-on fee, where Olimpia will receive payment if the Spirit sells Martínez at some point.
The Washington Spirit, led by President of Soccer Operations Haley Carter and majority owner Michele Kang, is currently in the midst of figuring out how to allow star forward Trinity Rodman to stay with the club. Their proposed contract for Rodman was denied by the league for not following the spirit of the CBA, although the NWSLPA raised a grievance against the denial.
Rodman may be able to sign with the Spirit under the new “High Impact Player” rule, although the HIP rule is also the subject of an NWSLPA grievance that states the rule cannot be implemented as it is subject to union bargaining.
