The San Diego Wave represents a homecoming of sorts for Catalina Macario.
The U.S. national team forward was born in Brazil and came to Southern California at age 12 to play for the San Diego Surf youth club. Now she’s back in town, joining the wave from English club Chelsea.
“I spent five years in Europe and had a lot of fun, but there’s no place like home,” Macario said at a press conference announcing the deal on Friday. “I had my teammates play for the Wave. Of course, I always wished there was a professional soccer club here in San Diego, at least when I was growing up and playing for the San Diego Surf. So when that opportunity came, it was a natural fit.”
Macario is under contract through the 2030 season. National Women’s Soccer League The club spoke. According to published reports, her contract with the Wave is worth $8 million, making it one of the largest total contracts in league history.
In order to sign Macario, the Wave had to sign the NWSL. High impact player rulesThis allows teams to exceed the salary cap for players who meet certain criteria. The rule was adopted by the league in December amid the Washington Spirit’s efforts to re-sign the varsity forward. trinity rodmanhampered by the league’s salary cap constraints.
“I know there’s been a lot of discussion about this rule and the standards and the mechanics and what this is, and ultimately I think we were in a position as a club where we had the option to make the most of this rule. And it came at an incredibly good time for us, because before this rule came into effect, honestly, sending Cat home wasn’t really an option,” said Wave sporting director and general manager Camille Aston. “When this all happened, everything changed. If it hadn’t happened, Kat probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
Macario, last year’s leading scorer on the U.S. team, has yet to take the field for the Wave. She has been suffering from a heel injury and has missed recent matches for Chelsea and the US national team. But she will be introduced to fans at a ceremony Saturday night when the Wave host the Chicago Stars at Snapdragon Stadium.
Macario, who became a U.S. citizen in 2020, has played in 29 games and scored 16 goals for the national team. She scored eight goals in 10 games for the United States last year.
Macario, now 26, played at Stanford University, where he won two national championships and won the MAC Herman Trophy as the nation’s best soccer player twice.
She decided to forego her senior season with the Cardinal and turn pro. Signed with Lyon She played two seasons with the French club before being bought by Chelsea. Throughout her professional career, she appeared in 105 games and scored 44 goals.
By signing with the Wave, Macario hopes his record-breaking move will help grow his game.
“I’m very grateful to the Wave for taking this opportunity and believing in me, but at the same time, I really want to help improve the game. Not only the team, but the league as well,” Macario said. “The more we can bring in world-class players, and I don’t want to say this about myself, but the more opportunities we have to bring in world-class players, I think the better the league will be.”
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