Lesbian Sports, News for Queer Women

Soccer Star Esther González Makes Shocking Move to Saudi Arabia

August 26, 2026
SANDY, UTAH – JULY 10: Esther González #9 of the Gotham FC looks on during the second half between Utah Royals v NJ/NY Gotham FC at America First Field on July 10, 2026 in Sandy, Utah. (Photo by Bryan Byerly/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

The queer soccer star left fans shocked after joining a team in a country where queerness is illegal.

Queer soccer star Esther González left NJ/NY Gotham FC in July stating that she and the team has agreed to terminate her contract allowing her to attend to personal matters in Spain. Now, the club’s all-time leading scorer has joined Al-Qadsiah Saudi Women’s Football Club, shocking fans, especially queer ones.

Shortly after the contract was announced, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that González deleted photos with her wife and son from her social media while leaving one photo of the two of them up from 2021. Fans have expressed their shock that González seemingly lied about why she was leaving Gotham while also expressing their shock that she would move to a country where being queer is illegal and can be punishable by death.

“I actually can’t get over Esther saying she was going to temporarily retire from soccer to deal with a personal family issue and then signing with a new team whose games her wife and son cannot safely attend like three weeks later…” one user wrote on X.

“How easy it is to fight for rights that you already have in the name of oppressions that don’t exist in a country where you can do it without fear. True courage would be to defend those same rights precisely where doing so has consequences,” another user wrote about González’s deleted posts.

The Saudi Arabian teams are known for attracting talent from throughout the world in exchange for larger sums of money than American teams can pay. Still, Gotham fans, Spanish fans and queer fans alike feel betrayed by the player’s choice to join the international league.

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