Gay NWSL player signs with Saudi women’s football club, deletes photos of wife and child

This story originally appeared on Them.

Esther González, a National Women’s Soccer League champion married to a woman, is facing criticism after signing to Al-Qadsiah of Saudi Women’s Premier League — located in a country that famously outlaws same-sex relations.

The 33-year-old athlete’s shocking move comes after she made the decision to leave the NWSL’s NJ/NY Gotham Football Club before the end of her 2027 contract in July to address “personal matters” in Spain, which she announced on Instagram. During her time with the football club, González was a 2025 NWSL MVP finalist and top scorer. The soccer club allowed her to end her contract early to address issues at home.

A month later, on August 23, González announced her contract with Al-Qadsiah. The striker’s decision to sign with a team in Saudi Women’s Premier League comes as a shock to queer women’s soccer fans, especially given the country’s stance of LGBTQ+ people as well as González’s previous openness about her identity. In January, González and her wife Estefanía Cruz welcomed their first child, sharing pictures with the world from the hospital. But since she signed with Al-Qadsiah, and moved to Saudi Arabia, Spanish outlet El Mundo reported that González has deleted photos of her wife and child from social media. When Them reviewed her account, the majority of González’s remaining pictures with her wife were deep in carousels featuring other images as the cover slide.

While Saudi Arabia does not have a codified legal code, and is governed by interpretations of Sharia law often determined in court, homosexuality and gender nonconformity are both criminalized, though the enforcement of different punishments vary, per Human Dignity Trust. Though the country’s department of tourism has officially stated that LGBTQ+ people are welcome to visit, there have been recent high-profile cases that underscore the precarity of queer and trans life in Saudi.

In 2022, Saudi police arrested Tala Safwan, a popular Egyptian social media influencer, for posting a video that people felt “had lesbian undertones,” per the BBC. In 2020, human rights groups sounded the alarm after Yemeni blogger Mohamad al-Bokari was convicted and sentenced to 10 months in jail and threatened with deportation for supporting LGBTQ+ rights publicly. As Out previously reported, gay social media influencer Suhail al-Jameel was arrested by Saudi authorities for wearing leopard-print shorts in 2019.

Queer people online have pointed out that González signing with Al-Qadsiah as a gay woman may only be possible because of her financial privilege and status as a professional athlete, in comparison to the lived reality of queer people in Saudi Arabia. Them reached out to Esther González’s representatives for comment and will update this story as it develops.

“as a gay saudi woman I don't even know how to feel about esther gonzález playing in the saudi league because its just so hypocritical to pretend that an openly gay woman who's not white would be able to get away with this :/ on the other hand I want this league to get better,” one user on X wrote.

González’s move to Saudi marks a significant development for the county’s football club, as the striker is a highly accomplished and recognized athlete. In 2025, she was awarded the Golden Boot honors at the UEFA Women’s European Championship. She was also instrumental in helping take home the prize for Spain during the 2023 Women’s FIFA World Cup.

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