Gotham FC and the club’s World Cup-winning striker Esther González have mutually agreed to terminate the forward’s contract as she “temporarily steps away from soccer to attend to personal matters in Spain,” the club announced Monday.
“We wish Esther and her family all the best as they return home to Spain,” Yael Averbuch West, the president of soccer operations at Gotham, said in a statement. “Esther has been a model professional on and off the field, helping us win four major trophies and serving as a respected leader in our team. We thank her for three great years full of world-class moments of brilliance. We will always support Esther wherever her path leads.”
The 33-year-old forward joined Gotham midway through the 2023 season, after winning the World Cup with Spain in Australia and New Zealand. She immediately became one of the club’s most influential players, helping Gotham capture its first NWSL title later that year by scoring the championship-winning goal.
During her three seasons with the club, González established herself as one of the most prolific scorers in club history. She was a two-time NWSL Best XI selection and a finalist for the 2025 NWSL MVP award. Her 33 goals made her Gotham’s all-time leading scorer, and she helped the club win two championships, including the 2025 NWSL title and the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup.
In 2025, González finished runner-up in the NWSL Golden Boot race with 13 goals. She also became just the second player in league history, after Megan Rapinoe, to record nine multi-goal games for a single club.
Most recently, she scored in Gotham’s 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Current in June, helping the club lift the 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup in Columbus, Ohio.
“Gotham FC will always hold a very special place in my heart,” González said in a statement. “From the moment I arrived, I felt something unique about this club — the people, the environment, the way everyone works together every single day. I am grateful for each and every moment shared with my teammates, the coaches, and every single member of this club.”
Before the NWSL, she had an illustrious career at home in Spain. Between 2013 and 2019, she scored 36 goals for Atlético Madrid, where she led the team to three Liga F titles and a Copa de la Reina trophy. At her next club, Levante, she scored 29 goals from 2019-21. And in just two seasons with Real Madrid, Esther scored 39 times and is still one of the club’s leading goal scorers.
The youngest of four sisters from Huéscar, a small town in Spain’s southern Granada province, González has often spoken about the importance of family, reflecting on how central they have always been in her life. In an interview with The Athletic in the summer of 2025, she talked about her signature goal celebration, forming a “T” with her fist to her forearm, which is a symbolic gesture to her family and partner, representing the energy and adrenaline she feels as a forward and sharing the moment with them, she said, especially with her mother in Spain, who does not miss any of her games.
González and her partner, Estefanía Cruz, announced they were expecting their first child last August. The couple welcomed a son in January.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Gotham FC, NWSL
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