United States forward Catarina Macario returns home to the San Diego Wave from Chelsea

By Canadian Press on March 27, 2026.

The San Diego Wave have acquired U.S. national team forward Catarina Macario from English club Chelsea.

Macario was signed through the 2030 season, the National Women’s Soccer League club announced Friday. Her deal with the Wave is worth $8 million, according to published reports, making it among the biggest total contracts in league history.

To sign Macario, the Wave utilized the High Impact Player rule, which allows teams to exceed the salary cap for players that meet certain criteria.

Macario was born in Brazil but moved to San Diego when she was 12 and played for the San Diego Surf youth club. She went on to Stanford, where she won two national championships and was twice awarded the MAC Hermann Trophy as the nation’s best soccer player.

“This city has played such an important role in my journey, and the opportunity to come back and represent it means a lot to me,” Marcario said in a statement. “From my first conversations with the Club, I felt the ambition and the vision for what we can accomplish together, including bringing trophies to this city.”

The Wave planned a news conference Friday morning to introduce Macario, who has played in Europe since 2021.

“Cat is a world-class player who has consistently performed at the highest levels of the game,” said Camille Ashton, the Wave’s sporting director and general manager. “She is an intelligent, technical and creative attacker with exceptional vision and composure in the final third. Her ability to unlock defenses and influence matches in multiple ways will further strengthen an already strong foundation as we continue building toward championship success.”

Macario decided to forgo her senior season at Stanford and turn pro, signing with Lyon. She played two seasons for the French club before she was acquired by Chelsea. Over the course of her professional career, she’s scored 44 goals in 105 appearances.

Macario, who became a U.S. citizen in 2020, has 16 goals in 29 appearances with the national team. She had eight goals in 10 matches for the United States last year.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press