Maria Sanchez is in the headlines for the obvious reasons. The Mexican international recently bagged a whopping contract from the Houston Dash, making her the highest-paid player in the history of the NWSL. In an exclusive chat with ESPN’s Sebastian Salazar, Maria spoke from ‘ice-cold Idaho’ about how she felt after signing a new contract. She opened up on this huge moment and said, “Very happy to be in Houston, very happy to extend my contract there, and very excited for what’s to come”.

Sebastian Salazar asked ”La Bombi’ what it means for her to sign NWSL’s biggest contract. Interestingly, she made a modest confession, claiming her record won’t stand much longer. “It’s very exciting. I know that women’s soccer is growing and probably within the next few days or weeks, somebody else is going to break another record so to me I honestly just love being able to represent Mexican women’s soccer and break those boundaries,” continued the Mexican captain. Maria insisted her contract is a symbol of representation of Mexican women’s soccer.

While the soccer fraternity continues to make the America-born forward the talk of the town, Maria humbly acknowledged her love to ‘break’ boundaries for Mexican women’s soccer.  “I’m just very happy to be a leader in that and represent them the best way I can,” she added.

‘La Bombi’ is now officially the highest-paid player in the National Women’s Soccer League with a deal worth $1.5 million. With 46 career appearances with the Houston Dash, the Mexican international re-signed with the club to a three-year contract with the mutual option to extend to 2027. It also overtakes Trinity Rodman’s $1.1 million Washington Spirit contract, which Dennis Rodman‘s daughter earlier signed in 2022 to become the highest-paid player at that time.

Dash’s general manager Alex Singer expressed why securing Sanchez was a priority for them as they knew she would play a crucial role for years to come Alex said, “We are excited to share the signing of Maria Sanchez, a pivotal player and person on and off of the pitch…her world-class left foot and attacking abilities, her desire to be a champion in Houston…Signing Maria to this robust, new deal signifies our commitment to investing in infrastructure and talent on the pitch and direction of our club,” Dash’s general manager added.

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Additionally, the forward shed light on the struggles before she entered into club soccer.

Maria Sanchez’s struggle of having no one to play with before the NWSL days

The 27-year-old Houston Dash forward also was quite open about giving the fanbase a glimpse of the difficult path she had to endure to become a soccer player. Owing to financial restrictions, she could not play club soccer. So she started to play with her neighbors who were boys and her brother who was six years older than her until he left for college. “My parents didn’t really want me to play with boys, so most of the time I would have to play by myself,” she revealed. 

She also mentioned that the challenging Idaho winters led her to find alternatives, such as sneaking into a nearby Middle School gym and soccer pitch in front of her house when outdoor play wasn’t feasible. Maria Sanchez acknowledges that her hardships helped to make her into the player she is today and is appreciative of those experiences.

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READ MORE: Top 10 Highest Paid NWSL Players After Maria Sanchez’s Record Deal With Houston Dash