US soccer superstar Christen Press is set to earn historic $550K haul in 'dream come true' move to new hometown club

• USWNT superstar Christen Press inked a historic contract with newly minted NWSL club Angel City FC.
• The LA native joined her hometown team for a potential $550K over three years, per the LA Times.
• Press is Angel City's first signing. She called the opportunity to play at home "a dream come true."

Christen Press is heading home - and she'll make a pretty penny once she gets there.

The Los Angeles native signed with Angel City FC, a National Women's Soccer League expansion club set to embark on its first season in 2022. At long last, Press will suit up for a team based in Southern California after years of playing across the country and overseas.

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, the US Women's National Team superstar has the potential to make more than half a million dollars over three seasons with her hometown club. Should Press exercise a third-year option on her two-season deal - which appears likely considering her longtime desire to play near friends and family in LA - she will become one of the highest-paid players in league history with a deal reported to be worth roughly $550,000.

"For it to really be happening, to be able to bring professional soccer back to Los Angeles and to be a part of that team, is nothing but a dream come true," Press told the LA Times. "A dream that didn't even feel possible for the majority of my career."

Press had reason to be skeptical. She left Los Angeles in 2007 to play for Stanford. Then when she moved out of the Bay Area four years later to play professionally, she said goodbye to the Golden State for good.

In the 11 years since, the prolific scorer has taken the field for eight clubs in three countries. The closest she's come to a "homecoming" was her stint with the now-defunct Utah Royals from 2018 to 2020.

"The dream of being a pro player in LA was always elusive for me," Press said. "Every team that I've played for has always been like, 'You know, when LA gets a team, we promise we'll send you there.' And it always felt everyone's been able to say that because no one knew when it was happening."

Most recently, with the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the US, Press took her talents overseas to play for Manchester United. A month after she signed with the FA Women's Super League club, the forward's NWSL rights stateside were taken by Racing Louisville FC in the 2020 expansion draft.

Press never reported to Kentucky to join Racing despite parting ways with Manchester United after finishing her one-year deal in June. Instead, she returned to Southern California to train on her own ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Now, just a few weeks after returning to the US with a bronze medal, Press can settle down in LA. Louisville traded her NWSL playing rights to Angel City in exchange for the new club's first-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, allocation money, and total roster protection in this year's Expansion Draft.

"Whether it's in three years, six years, or nine years I would love to finish my career in front of my friends and family and, obviously, the city of Los Angeles," Press told the LA Times. "My family and friends, they have followed me all over the world, so to be able to come and play in front of them week in and week out … just to see them in the stands and know that I've come home, for me full circle."