West Ham United is delighted to announce the signing of Chile international Camila Sáez on a two-year contract.
The 29-year-old joins the Club on a free transfer following the expiration of her deal at Madrid CFF, for whom she featured 29 times in the Spanish Liga F during the 2023/24 campaign.
Capped 71 times by Chile, Sáez started every game as La Roja finished fifth at the 2022 Copa América Femenina in Colombia, scoring in a 2-1 group-stage win over Ecuador. She also represented her country in their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in France in 2019, the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and helped Chile finish as runners-up to Mexico at the 2023 Pan-American Games.
At Club level, she spent her formative years in her native Chile, playing at La Calera Union, Everton and Copperloa before joining Primera División club Colo-Colo in 2012 as a 17-year-old. Sáez had five-and-a-half successful seasons in her homeland, winning five Clausura and four Apertura Championship titles, plus three Copa de Campeonas titles
The defender signed her first professional contract at Spanish second tier side Tacón in 2017, spending a season in Madrid before making the switch to Rayo Vallecano ahead of the 2018/19 season, where she made 100 appearances during a four-year spell.
The defender will wear No17 and will link up with her new teammates at the end of July when the women’s team returns to Chadwell Heath to begin their preseason training.
“I’m really excited to be here and I hope to repay the trust the Club has shown to bring me to east London,” Sáez told whufc.com. “It’s very difficult to get the opportunity to play in the Women’s Super League. I feel proud to bring Chile to the league and with that, comes a lot of responsibility to ensure others can follow.
“I’m a defender who loves being up for the fight, particularly in aerial battles and I think I’m good at playing from the back.
“West Ham is a big club that deserves to get to the top. With a lot of hard work, I hope we will achieve that together.”
Women’s team manager Rehanne Skinner expressed her delight at adding a left-footed defender to her squad to complement her existing options in the heart of the Hammers defence.
“I’m really pleased to be welcoming Camila to the Club,” she said. “Camila is a quality defender who will bring a wealth of experience to the team, having played for her country for over 12 years and accumulating over 15,000 minutes in playing time over six seasons in Spain.
“Her desire, attitude and game understanding will help to strengthen our defensive unit, whilst also enabling us to continue to evolve our style of play in possession.
“As a character, she is resilient and committed. She will do whatever it takes for the team and I’m sure she will be a huge asset to us moving forwards.”
Sáez is the women’s team’s third arrival this summer, following the signings of Poland international goalkeeper Kinga Szemik and Germany U19 forward Shekiera Martinez.
Everyone at West Ham United would like to welcome Camila to east London and wish her every success for her career in Claret and Blue.
