A recent World Cup winner joins a historically downtrodden club, immediately leads them to their first championship, praises the level of play in the league, speaks fondly of living in the club’s market, extends her contract with the club, leads the club to another championship, is named a league MVP finalist, and breaks the club’s all-time scoring record. That’s the fairytale of Esther González and Gotham FC – a story that ended abruptly, just nine days after that scoring record was set. On 27 July, Gotham announced that they had mutually parted ways with the striker as she “temporarily steps away from soccer to attend to personal matters in Spain”.
The announcement of her departure was full of gushing words going both directions, and was met with understanding and support from the women’s soccer world. But less than a month after González left Gotham, Al Qadsiah, a club in the Saudi Women’s Premier League, announced her as their newest signing, on a one-season contract with an option to extend for a second. NWSL journalist Jenna Tonelli soon reported, “League sources tell me that Gotham did not expect Esther to sign with another club this soon.” Questions swirled: did she actually intend to take a break from soccer when she left Gotham?
And why would a player who just had a child with her female partner choose to play in Saudi Arabia, a country where same-sex relations are criminalized? There’s a lot the public doesn’t know about the transfer saga, but the questions it raises, and the uncomfortable feelings that surround them, say a lot about the state of women’s soccer anyway. For one, it raises questions about the base professionalism between players and clubs.
If Gotham really didn’t expect González to sign with another club so soon, was that put into writing? Is it possible González misled Gotham to get out of a contract that ran through 2027? In either case, one result is that Gotham missed out on the chance to recoup a transfer fee that may well have been sizable – the Orlando Pride got $500,000 for transferring Adriana to Al Qadsiah in January 2025.
The machinations around pay for NWSL players could also be a factor. Shortly before González departed Gotham, they signed Sam Kerr – another veteran elite striker with a history of success at the club. Outwardly, Gotham made no mention that one would replace the other.
Yael Averbuch West, the club’s president of soccer operations, told reporters there were conversations with González about how the club would maximize her and Kerr’s talents, together. Still, perhaps González looked at Kerr and the club’s influx of summer signings and saw the writing on the wall: she wouldn’t be getting a raise anytime soon. Averbuch West is known for making the most of the NWSL’s roster rules, but she is limited by the league’s salary cap all the same.
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