Chelsea's Pernille Harder would not mind losing status as most expensive female player

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Pernille HarderImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The fee Chelsea paid for Pernille Harder remains the world record in women's football

Chelsea forward Pernille Harder says she is "totally fine" at the prospect of no longer being the world's most expensive female footballer.

The Denmark forward joined Chelsea in 2020 for a fee in excess of £250,000 which remains the world-record fee for a female player.

But reports suggest Barcelona could surpass that to sign Manchester City and England midfielder Keira Walsh.

"It's good for women's football to get the money rolling," said Harder, 29.

"I'm happy that it will keep getting higher. That's what I wanted. I wanted to start something new."

Until recently, it had been almost unheard of for female players to leave clubs under contract unless there was a mutual agreement to terminate it early.

This is in contrast to the men's game, where this summer's transfer window set a new Premier League spending record of about £1.9bn.

However, this summer has seen several Women's Super League clubs buy players out of contract - including the arrival of England's Rachel Daly at Aston Villa.

"For sure it's a good development for women's football - that players don't have to play their contracts out," added Harder.

"They can actually get sold and the clubs can actually get something out of the players, so it's a development."

Earlier in the summer, Manchester City turned down a six-figure offer for midfielder Walsh from Spanish champions Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are reported to have had a world-record bid of over £425,000, external for France midfielder Grace Geyoro rejected by Paris Saint-Germain last week.

The WSL transfer window closes on Thursday with the cut-off for domestic deals at 17:00 BST and midnight for international signings.

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