U.S. forward Catarina Macario signs with the San Diego Wave from Chelsea

By Canadian Press on March 27, 2026.

The San Diego Wave represents a homecoming of sorts for Catarina Macario.

The U.S. national team forward was born in Brazil before coming to Southern California as a 12-year-old and playing for the San Diego Surf youth club. Now, she’s back in the city, joining the Wave from English club Chelsea.

“I spent five years in Europe and I had a great time, but there’s no place like home,” Macario said at a news conference Friday to announce her signing. “I have had teammates play for the Wave. Obviously, I’ve always wished that there would be a professional soccer club here in San Diego, at least when I was growing up and playing for the San Diego Surf. So when the opportunity came about, it just made sense.”

Macario is signed through the 2030 season, the National Women’s Soccer League club said. 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 used the NWSL’s high-impact player rule, which 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 national team forward Trinity Rodman, which were hampered by the constraints of the league’s salary cap.

“I know there’s a lot of conversations around this rule and criteria and the mechanisms and what this looks like. And I think, ultimately, we were in a position as a club where we have a choice to maximize this rule, and it came at an incredibly good time for us, because before this rule was in place, quite honestly, it wasn’t an option, realistically, to bring Cat home,” said Camille Aston, the Wave’s sporting director and general manager. “When this all kind of came into fruition, it changed everything. And if not for it, Cat wouldn’t be sitting here right now, most likely.”

Macario, the U.S. team’s top scorer last year, won’t see the field for the Wave just yet. She is managing a heel injury that has prevented her from playing in recent games for Chelsea and the United States. But she’ll be introduced to fans in a ceremony Saturday night when the Wave host the Chicago Stars at Snapdragon Stadium.

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.

Now 26, Macario starred at Stanford, where she won two national championships and was twice awarded the MAC Hermann Trophy as the nation’s best soccer player.

She decided to forgo her senior season with the Cardinal and turn pro, signing with Lyon in 2021. She played two seasons for the French club before she was acquired by Chelsea. Over the course of her professional career, she has scored 44 goals in 105 appearances.

In signing with the Wave, Macario is hoping her record move helps grow the game.

“I’m so grateful that the Wave have taken this opportunity and have this belief in me, but at the same time, I want to really help elevate the game. I want to help not only my team, but also the league as well,” Macario said. “I think the more that we’re able to bring world-class players — not that I want to say that about myself — but the more that we’re able to have this opportunity to bring world-class players, the better the league will be.”

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

Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press

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