Matildas star Ellie Carpenter has signed for Chelsea on a four-year deal.
The 25-year-old right-back joins the WSL champions from Lyon, where she enjoyed a five-year stint and lifted two women’s Champions League titles.
She will be reunited with former Lyon manager Sonia Bompastor in west London as well as her Matildas team-mate Sam Kerr, but she will also become rivals on the football pitch with her new wife Danielle van de Donk also departing Lyon.
Speaking on the move, Carpenter said: ‘I’m really excited about this new challenge; it’s a new adventure. It feels like the right move for me, and I can’t wait to get started and give my all for this club.
‘I’m very proud to join such a big club, one of the biggest in women’s football. Chelsea have enjoyed so much success in England, and I’m delighted to now be a part of it.’
Ellie Carpenter (second from left) tied the knot with her Lyon teammate Danielle van de Donk (second from right) in June
But the footy couple are now set to become rivals on the pitch, as they are both set to leave Lyon
Carpenter already has an impressive CV, having made her senior debut for Australia at just 15, and has already travelled to three Olympic Games – becoming the youngest woman to ever play football at the Olympics at Rio 2016, aged 16.
She has also won five domestic league titles across her time in Australia and France.
Paul Green, head of women’s football at Chelsea, said: ‘Ellie is a player who we have tracked for many years. She has a lot of experience for someone of her age and has won numerous titles in her career, including the Champions League.
‘She is an athletic full back who loves to get forward. We are excited to see how she continues to develop and what she will add to an already talented squad of players.
Carpenter and Van de Donk are understood to have met when the Netherlands star, 33, joined up with the French outfit in 2021.
The pair went public on their relationship back in 2023 and announced their engagement on New Year’s Day in 2024.
Carpenter and Van de Donk tied the knot in a stunning ceremony at the Chateau Hermitage de Combas in southern France’s Servian region.
The pair published several pictures from the day on Instagram, with Carpenter writing: ‘I choose you. I will always choose you.’
Carpenter (left) is reportedly set for a move to Chelsea to join up with Australia team-mate Sam Kerr (Van de Donk, pictured right)
Van de Donk (pictured) has been named as part of Arjan Veurink’s Netherlands’ side
Both footballers stunned in beautiful white gowns as they stood on the lawn of a luxurious French mansion.
Van de Donk’s gown was made by bridal gown brand Pronovias while Carpenter’s gown was made by Collingwood-based custom dress maker Mia Ateliers.
She called it ‘the dress of her dreams’.
‘The setting is so lush and green, it’s beautiful,’ Carpenter told Vogue.
‘It’s got this unique, elegant vibe but still feels grounded in love and who we are as a couple. Intimate, natural, and full of heart.’
Van de Donk, meanwhile, has been named in the Netherlands squad for this summer’s Women’s Euros, which kicks off today.
The Netherlands have a set of tough fixtures ahead of them too. They’ll first take on Wales on July 5 in Lucerne, Switzerland, before travelling to Zurich to play England. Their final group stage match comes on July 13 against France in Basel.
The Euros comes just as Van de Donk has agreed a deal to join London City, following three years at Lyon.
‘It’s just such a nice environment to be in, the club really appeals to me, it reminds me of a little family, and I want to be a part of it,” Van de Donk said.
‘The project that London City have, it’s different but in a good way. London City have to battle for everything and that’s my style.’
