The news had been brewing since the beginning of the week, but it shook the world of women's soccer on Friday. A Colombian, Mayra Tatiana Ramírez, born in Sibaté (Cundinamarca), was the protagonist of what, until now, is the most expensive transfer in history. Chelsea, leader of the English championship, paid 450,000 euros to Levante, the team where she has been key in the scheme for almost two years. And it will transfer another 50,000 if Mayra meets a series of objectives.
It doesn't seem like much, right? But for the women's football market, which is just beginning to grow, it is a milestone. In fact, clubs very rarely pay a transfer. Fifa made a global report on transfers in the winter market and the vast majority of players arrived at their new clubs with sports rights in hand.
“The total number of transfers during the mid-year registration period has also increased for the sixth consecutive year. “829 transfers have been registered, of which 66 have generated transfer expenses,” commented Emilio García Silvero, director of Fifa's Legal Services and Compliance Division. “Both figures have set a new record, with an increase of 19.1 percent and 83.3 percent, respectively,” he added.
“The total number of transfers has increased for the sixth consecutive year. “829 transfers have been registered, of which 66 have generated transfer expenses.”
According to the same Fifa study, in the summer market in Europe the record figure of 3 million dollars was reached. So paying 500,000 for Mayra becomes a historic event in the growth of women's football, although the gap is still enormous.
Mayra played her first minutes with her new team yesterday: she replaced Lauren James in the 67th minute, in the 0-2 win against Brighton, in which her compatriot Jorelyn Carabalí was a substitute.
Mayra's story began in her town, Sibaté, where she was born on March 23, 1999. She always wanted her life to be linked to a ball, but as a child, that friend was heavier and did not bounce: she started playing indoor soccer. .
“He liked playing with boys more than girls. She was very technical, but that was why, because she played a lot at that time and she always did it in a committed way. Now that she's grown up, you can see those things that she did before, she finished hard, with a lot of power,” her first coach, Gabriel Bejarano, told Gol Caracol.
The path to professional football
Mayra realized that she could have a greater projection in big-time football and that is why she decided to settle in Funza to play for Real Pasión, an amateur club in that municipality.
“Here we found a home for her and we had the opportunity to have her in a private school so that she would not travel from Sibaté, as she had to for a long time. Every day she left at 4 in the morning, went to school, had lunch in Funza, went to a restaurant, trained and arrived at Sibaté, around 9 or 10 at night. But she is a berraca, she overcame everything and she moved forward,” said her coach, Albert Martínez, to Blu Radio.
Mayra Ramírez, fourth in the top row, at Real Pasión de Funza.
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Real Pasión's greatest milestone is having qualified for the 2015 women's Copa Libertadores, which was organized in Colombia. To do this, the team was second in a tournament won by Formas Íntimas, the most prestigious institution in women's soccer. Mayra, who was 16 years old at the time, scored three of her team's six goals.
In addition to his ability, he stood out for his size (he is 1.78 meters tall). For this reason, when she was called up to the U-17 National Team for the South American Championship in Venezuela, in 2016, coach Carlos Quintero tried her as a central defender. Her strong point has always been attacking, although she has sacrificed a lot.
When the Women's Professional League began, Martínez took over as coach of Fortaleza. Mayra ended up there, who at the beginning did not play and in the end ended up starting the last four games. With that shirt he scored his first goal, against Huila, on May 7, 2017.
Mayra Ramírez, first in the second row, during her time in Fortaleza.
Formas Íntimas had an agreement with Medellín to play the women's League and Mayra ended up there in 2019. That year, the DIM, led by the current coach of the U-20 and U-17 teams, Carlos Paniagua, reached the final, but the attacker missed, due to injury, the second leg of the semifinal against Huila and the final series. against America, which was champion.
Nelson Abadía, coach of the Senior National Team, called her up for the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, in which, surprisingly, she was left out of the medals. But Mayra showed the coach that she could give a lot. For this reason, he had revenge at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, where he won a historic gold medal.
The jump to Europe
Without so much publicity, Mayra was one of the first players of the National Team to leave for Europe. In 2020 she signed with Sporting de Huelva. “I am eager to make a difference with Sporting de Huelva. Get out of relegation and be making a difference in the middle of the table, at the top of the table,” Mayra told Fémina Fútbol before leaving. She spent two years at that club and in 2022 they reached the final of the Queen's Cup, which they lost 6-1 against Barcelona.
Levante hired Mayra in mid-2022. In a year and a half, she established herself as one of the most important players on the squad. She had 6 goals in 7 games this season.
“We have talked about the transfer of Mayra, it speaks very well of the evolution she is having. That there is a transfer that moves in those figures means that women's football takes a step forward and that the teams are more competitive,” said Levante coach, Javi Calleja. Mayra continues to grow: she started in Sibaté and is now in London.
Jose Orlando Ascencio
Sports Deputy Editor
@josasc
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