Soccer Monday: Angel City's Thompson departs, Boston Legacy's Patão arrives

Last week speculation was rampant about whether Alyssa Thompson was really about to bolt from her hometown club Angel City to Chelsea. Turns out, she was.

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Then the conversation turned, as it always does, to money.

Rumors about the transfer fee for Thompson ranged from absurdly low to absurdly high (at one point I saw someone say it was going to be $5 million!). Turns out it was about $1.35 million with the potential for add-ons. The 20-year-old signed a five year contract with the Women’s Super League club.

All for this.

Welcome to Chelsea, Alyssa Thompson! 🔵 pic.twitter.com/XzuWv2fxrr
— (C)helsea FC Women 🏆🏆🏆 (@ChelseaFCW) September 5, 2025

Chelsea got a good deal.

“We already planned earlier in the transfer window to bring in a winger into the squad, so it took quite a long time but we were able to bring her [here] and I’m really pleased because I know what quality she can bring to the team,” Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor said following the team’s 2-1 season-opening win over Manchester City.

Thompson was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NWSL draft, becoming the league’s first high schooler to be be drafted. This season she scored six goals in 16 appearances for Angel City.

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A U.S. national team regular, Thompson was on the squad that went to the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Overall, she’s made 22 appearances with the national team since 2022, scoring three goals.

Thompson said in a statement: “Chelsea is such an amazing club, one of the best in the world. Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity at such a young age and I want to learn, grow and develop a lot.”

Since the beginning of the year, transfer fees in women’s soccer have steadily climbed, starting with the $1 million fee that Chelsea paid the San Diego Wave for Naomi Girma. The Orlando Pride recently paid $1.5 million for Lizbeth Ovalle, who made her debut on Sunday against the Chicago Stars.

In the middle of all the Thompson drama came word that Michele Kang’s London City Lionesses had acquired French midfielder Grace Geyoro from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported world-record fee of $1.88 million.

The Thompson and Geyoro moves concluded the wildly busy summer transfer season. As women’s soccer leagues grow internationally there’s no doubt it’s going to get more frenetic and far-reaching. Case in point: Bay FC’s Asisat Oshoala recently went to Al Hilal women in the Saudi Premier League, only established in 2022.

Oh, and the NWSL’s 2026 free agents are already negotiating. Buckle up.

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Patão introduced

While everyone was breathlessly awaiting confirmation of Thompson’s move, the Boston Legacy introduced new head coach Filipa Patão, who obtained her visa and is now stateside.

She took the opportunity to make a rather bold prediction:

“I’m here to make history. I’m sorry, I know that is hard. I know that is difficult. I know that a lot of people are going to say, `Oh, my God. She doesn’t know what the deal is with this league.’ I know the difficulties of this league,” Patão said. “I believe a lot in our process. It’s going to be a fight. But in the end, you’re going to be happy with the results.”

Patão comes to the Legacy from Portugal’s Benfica. She compiled a 156-28-15 record across all competitions with Benfica, which won Portugal’s top flight title five straight years during her tenure.

Benfica also advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 UEFA Women’s Champions League. She was nominated for the Ballon d’Or Coach of the Year award in 2024.

“I’m very excited because I know the project is ambitious. I know that I have an opportunity to help to build something different, something great, and create a legacy,” Patão said. “I’m so excited to get to work with the players and with the staff. I know the ambition is very, very high, and I know the responsibility to have a new project in my hands, in our hands. But I know that everybody here is capable to do this job.”

The Legacy also announced last week that it had named Jennifer van Dijk as the team’s president, overseeing all of the club’s business operations. Before joining the Legacy, van Dijk was CEO of the animation company Superplastic. She has also worked at IMG, Wasserman and the NBA.

I certainly appears that after a bumpy start, the Legacy have righted the ship. That’s not just good for Boston, it’s good for the NWSL.

Together from the start 🤝

Legacy fans gave a warm welcome to Coach Filipa Patão tonight. Thank you for showing up big, Boston. pic.twitter.com/AlSi554NQB
— Boston Legacy FC (@NWSLBoston) September 7, 2025