The record Australian transfer fee paid by San Diego for Melbourne City defender Kaitlyn Torpey reflects the growing value in women’s football, according to those working within the game. The 23-year-old full-back, who is her club’s reigning players’ player of the year, made 48 appearances for City and is leaving for a fee understood to be $75,000. Australian women’s transfer fees have not traditionally been paid let alone reported, but industry sources suggested City’s fee was likely to be around double the previous benchmark. The new record is consistent with the rapid growth of women’s transfer fees in recent years. The A-League Men’s record is reportedly around $2.5m, following Joe Gauci’s transfer to Aston Villa last week and similarly lucrative fees paid for Marco Tilio (Celtic), Jordan Bos (Westerlo) and Nestory Irankunda (Bayern Munich) in the past year. Torpey’s agent, Rob Juric, would not confirm the fee to be paid by San Diego but said City had agreed to accept a bid from the player’s preferred destination rather than hold out for a higher fee from elsewhere. “City always had the player at the forefront of discussions,” Juric said. “There were one or two other clubs in the US who were very keen on Kaitlyn, and Melbourne actually left some money on the table.” Another player agent, Buddy Farah, who has previously helped Matildas veteran Emily van Egmond sign her own contract with San Diego, said the record fee showed the direction the women’s game was heading. “You will certainly start to see a trend of spending on transfer fees in the women’s game,” Farah said. “Buckle up and get ready for the ride.” According to Fifa’s global transfer report released last week, fees in 2023 reached $9.4m (US$6.1m). The second-highest fee paid last year was for Matildas midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross by Arsenal to Swedish club Hammarby for around $550,000, according to reports. Only Dutch midfielder Jill Roord, who moved from Wolfsburg to Manchester City for a reported $580,000, cost more in 2023. Keira Walsh set the all-time women’s record when she moved from Manchester City to Barcelona for a fee reported to be around $750,000 in 2022. Juric said the boom in fees was driven mostly by the elite European clubs and renewed investment in the United States’ competition, creating a “two-speed economy”. “In the UK, the US and the Spanish league to a certain extent, there’s a lot of money being invested in salaries, infrastructure, transfer fees, and I think that’s very much driving the global transfer fees,” Juric said. “But then all the other competitions outside of that – and I put Australia in that – it’s not the case.” Juric said that over the next two years in California, Torpey would be earning the equivalent of what she might earn in 10 years in the A-League. “That’s the reality, and that’s where we are in terms of the lack of funding and finances here in Australia,” Juric said. Farah added that the San Diego Wave, which won the National Women’s Soccer League shield last year in just their second year in the competition, provided an outstanding environment for development. “They have a top set up with many quality players,” Farah said. “It can only be beneficial for the young girl’s development and it also shows that you don’t beed to be a current Matilda to get picked up by a big club.” The future of the A-Leagues has been clouded by recent financial strife, which saw dozens of staff laid off at the league operator Australian Professional Leagues. Transfer fees have been identified as a key revenue stream for local clubs as the league adopts the role of a feeder competition for Europe.