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San Diego Wave signs Brazil international Gabi Portilho from Gotham
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- San Diego Wave signs Brazil international Gabi Portilho from Gotham
San Diego Wave signs Brazil international Gabi Portilho from Gotham
San Diego Wave has signed Brazil international Gabi Portilho from NJ/NY Gotham FC for $175,000 in transfer fees.
The 30-year-old attacker has signed a deal through the end of the 2026 National Women's Soccer League season with an option of an extra year, the teams announced Monday.
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Portilho joins the Wave after playing just one season in the NWSL with Gotham, following her arrival from Brazilian side SC Corinthians in December 2024.
Having won the 2025 league championship , her final game for Gotham was a 1-0 defeat in January against her former side in the semi-finals of the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup in London.
"Gabi is an impactful attacking player with championship experience, and we're excited to welcome her to San Diego," sporting director and general manager Camille Ashton said in a statement.
"She's a versatile player who competes at a high level on both sides of the ball. Gabi has consistently performed on the biggest stages for club and country, and her quality, work rate, and winning mentality will elevate our attacking group and add another competitive edge to our squad."
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The forward, who can feature anywhere along the frontline, made 19 appearances, scored three goals and had three assists in the NWSL for Gotham in 2025, including the playoffs.
Portilho won two trophies in 2025 with Gotham: the inaugural 2024-25 CONCACAF Champions Cup and the 2025 NWSL Championship. On that NWSL playoff run, she started in Gotham's quarter-final and semi-final but was an unused substitute in the final, a 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit in San Jose, Calif.
Over four seasons between 2020-24 for Corinthians, Portilho scored 22 goals in 96 appearances and helped them win five consecutive Campeonato Brasileiro Feminino A1 titles, three consecutive Supercopa do Brasil titles and three Copa Libertadores Femenina titles.
Portilho made her debut for the Brazilian's women's national team in 2022, at the age of 27. She has earned 28 caps and scored four goals for her country since then, helping Brazil win back-to-back Copa America Femenina titles in 2022 and 2025, and win a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
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The Wave's Brazilian connection
Analysis by Tamerra Griffin
If the Wave's 2025 season was defined, in part, by what has been termed the 'French connection' between the signings of defender Perle Morroni, midfielders Kenza Dali and Laurina Fazer , and winger Delphine Cascarino , then the San Diego club's upcoming season might just need to be called 'a conexão', the Portuguese version of the same phrase.
Portilho joins fellow Brazilian attackers Dudinha and Ludmila, whom the Wave signed last July and this January, respectively.
While the three may not have spent ample minutes together on the Brazilian women's national team, there will certainly be an expectation of a fluid partnership between them that, if all goes as planned, could be incredibly difficult to defend.
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Portilho's final season with Gotham was spotted at times with injuries but when she's healthy she offers a certain finesse on the ball and is lethal in tight spaces. She can break through lines with her distribution, ideally for someone like Ludmila to run onto on a fast break. And that's before considering the possibilities between Portilho and a younger player like 18-year-old Kimmi Ascanio, whose technical prowess aligns beautifully with the Brazilian style of play.
This acquisition also underscores the intrigue of a Brazilian-American player the Wave have been more publicly linked to lately: U.S. women's national team striker Catarina Macario , whose contract at Chelsea is set to expire this summer. One source with knowledge of the situation, speaking anonymously to The Athletic to protect relationships, said the San Diego Wave were front-runners to sign her .
All of a sudden, the Wave's front line is looking nearly set.
Gotham's, meanwhile, is chock full of talented rookies in the likes of Florida State University's Jordynn Dudley and Stanford's Andrea Kitahata. Esther Gonzalez, Midge Purce , and Katie Stengel will anchor the New Jersey/New York attacking core, but they now might also be looking for a player to connect the two groups.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
Gotham FC, San Diego Wave, Brazil, International Football, NWSL, Transfer News
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