Ashley Moriarty

Ashley Moriarty, OO (born December 12th, 2000) is a Valorian professional soccer player who plays most often as a striker, captaining Real Madrid Femenino and the Valorian National team.

Widely regarded as the greatest talent of the women's game, renowned especially for her creativity and goal-scoring ability, Moriarty has made significant contributions towards the success of both her clubs and country, as well as women's soccer as a whole.

Club Career (2018 - present)

Olympique Lyonnais (2018 - 2020)

Moriarty made her professional soccer debut with Olympique Lyonnais Féminin for the 2018-19 season, signing a two-year contract. She was top goal-scorer of the league, with 28 goals, and helped Lyon to their thirteenth consecutive title. She also heavily contributed Lyon's seventh Women's Champions League title, including scoring two goals in the final against Barcelona.

In the 2019-20 season, Moriarty once again topped the league as highest goal-scorer, this time scoring 34 times. OL won their fourteenth title, and eighth Champions League title.

Paris Saint-Germain (2020 - 2021)

Despite her success with the team, Moriarty opted to sign with Paris Saint-Germain Féminine for the 2020-21 season. She was top goal-scorer in the league for the third season in a row, and played a key role in Paris' championship victory that season, narrowly defeating her former club Lyon.

2021 Bidding War

Despite great success with PSG, and the club showing great interest in keeping her, Moriarty announced her intention to leave the French capital after the 2020-21 season. Although Paris set a record-breaking $1 million price tag on Moriarty—four times the women's soccer transfer record, which was £250,000 at the time—, a number of teams quickly jumped in to attempt to sign Moriarty. Most notably, her former club Lyon made a record transfer bid of $1.5 million, which was broken two days later by Barcelona, with a $1.75 million offer. Real Madrid then stepped in with a $3 million offer, hoping to quickly secure the transfer with a near-double bid. Both Barcelona and Lyon responded within a few days, with $4 and $4.5 million offers respectively. Real Madrid once more attempted to end things with a massive bid, offering PSG $6 million. This bid was once again beaten by both other teams. Barcelona offered $7.5 million, and, a few days later, Lyon offered $8 million, which they declared to be their final offer. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona responded to Lyon's withdrawal with even larger offers, bidding $10 and $11 million respectively.

The bidding war became a major focus in the media, as the transfer record in women's soccer was being broken several times over with each new bid. It was especially amplified by Barcelona and Real Madrid's rivalry: Moriarty's presence on either team would make them strong contenders for the league title and champions league. Real Madrid's keen interest was drawn to the fact Barcelona had long been above Madrid in the Liga F. Most of the media leaned towards Moriarty going to Real Madrid, pushing a rivalry between Moriarty and Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas, widely considered to be the two best female players in the world, and closely resembling the Messi–Ronaldo rivalry in the men's game. Although some, including Moriarty and Putellas themselves, condemned the media's rumors as "false and deceitful," the large spotlight on the women's game was generally seen as a positive influence. It also further propelled Moriarty to mainstream stardom, especially back home in Valoria, where then-prime minister Mark Newman even hinted at conferring upon her the Order of the Osprey, Valoria's highest state honor.

The bidding war continued to escalate until Barcelona pulled out after a final offer of $17.5 million, unwilling to outbid Real Madrid's subsequent $20 million offer. PSG allowed Real Madrid to negotiate with Moriarty, who ended up signing a three-year contract reportedly worth around $33 million (with a $3 million yearly salary and $4 million sign-on bonus). The $20 million transfer fee broke the record for highest transfer fee in women's soccer eighty-fold, and Moriarty's contract made her the highest-paid female soccer player in history.

Real Madrid (2021 - present)

Expectations were high for Moriarty for the 2021-22 season, mainly due to the monumental contract she had signed. Despite it being her first season, she was made captain, which she had been promised by PSG if she were to remain there another year. Despite their new acquisition, however, Real Madrid struggled, as the team seemed disjointed and unable to get Moriarty the ball. Faced on top of this with a dominant Barcelona, Madrid were unable to defeat their Catalan rivals in either of their meetings in the league. While Barcelona won the league, Madrid struggled to a third-place finish. To add to her woes, Moriarty failed to top the league in goals scored, finishing third with 19. Real Madrid were also knocked out of the Copa de la Reina in the semi-finals, by none other than Barcelona. In the Champions League, Real Madrid made it into the knockout stage, where they immediately faced Barcelona. Moriarty scored three goals in the two matches, but Real Madrid lost 3 - 8 on aggregate.

After an uncertain 2022 summer (see below: Controversies, 2022 Real Madrid Controversy) Moriarty returned as captain of Real Madrid for the 2022-23 season. After a number of structural and strategic changes had been made in the team, Moriarty found far more success in her second season with las Blancas. With the team build around her, and aiming to supply her with the ball as much as possible, Moriarty broke her own record and topped the league with 44 goals, en-route to Real Madrid's first Liga F title. She also led the club to their first Copa de la Reina victory (with a 3 - 1 victory over Madrid rivals Atletico, in which she scored a hat-trick), and led her team to a Champions League victory, defeating Barcelona 3 - 2 in the final to secure the continental treble (and also scoring a hat-trick in that match).

International Career (2019 - present)

Moriarty was first called up to the Valorian national team for the 2019 Women's World Cup, where she played a major role in securing a third-place finish for her nation. In the group stage, she scored both goals against Chile and four against Thailand. She scored all of Valoria's goals in the knockout stage, with one against Sweden, two against Germany, and two against England in the third-place play-off. She won the Golden Ball, Golden Boot (with 11 goals), Young Player Award, and Goal of the Tournament (for her third against Thailand). She was also named one of the ten "Players Who Dared to Shine," and won Player of the Match five times.

Moriarty's strong international form continued into the 2020 Olympics, where she first sported the captain's armband. The driving force behind the team, Moriarty scored the goal against Japan and both goals against Chile, and assisted for the goal against Great Britain. After a scoreless draw in the quarter-final match against Brazil, Moriarty uncharacteristically missed her penalty shot, however Valoria still made it through 4 - 3 on penalties. She returned to form in the semi-finals, scoring Valoria's goal against the United States. She also scored Valoria's goal against Sweden in the finals, although the match ended in a draw. Unlike against Brazil, Moriarty successfully converted her penalty in the shootout, which Valoria won 3 - 2 to win their first Olympic gold.

At the 2023 World Cup, Moriarty's Valoria won all three group stage matches in Group E, defeating England, Germany, and Japan. Moriarty scored a hat-trick against Germany and Japan, and a brace against Spain. As in 2019, Moriarty scored all of Valoria's goals in the knockout stage: four against the United States in the Round of 16, two against Argentina in the quarter-finals, two against Brazil in the semi-finals, and two against Spain in the finals. Her 18 goals at the tournament gave her the record for most goals scored in a single World Cup for either men or women, and brought her total World Cup goals tally to 29, firmly securing her record for most goals scored at the World Cup overall for either men or women. She won both the Golden Ball and Golden Boot for the second tournament in a row, and her first goal against Spain in the finals was voted Goal of the Tournament (also for the second tournament in a row). She was voted player of the match in every game she played.

Player Profile

Style

Moriarty is a highly versatile player, and, although she plays as a striker for both club and country, she often retreats into supporting forward or even attacking midfield positions to follow the ball. She is most renowned for her strong technical skills and ability to dribble through opponents, although she also has exceptional range and power, able to score goals from far outside the penalty box. She is also known for her finishing and playmaking abilities, often combining both to create goals for herself.

Moriarty's playstyle has also greatly influenced the teams she plays: both Real Madrid and Valorian national team have built their team around supplying her with the ball in opportune places, allowing her to score most goals. The teams she plays on mirror her highly aggressive playstyle, aiming to quickly get the ball to Moriarty to try for as many goals as possible. Moriarty thus excels in effectively-performed counter-attacks, the source of many of her goals.

Rivalry with Alexia Putellas

As two of the most talented female players in the world, comparisons have often been made between Moriarty and Putellas. These comparisons became a full-blown rivalry in 2021, when Moriarty was sought after by both Real Madrid and Barcelona (the latter of which Putellas became captain of that same year). Media and fans pushed for Moriarty to sign with Real Madrid, calling it the "Messi–Ronaldo rivalry of the women's game."

In 2021, at a press conference after Moriarty and Putellas' second competitive meeting, Moriarty said this about their relationship:

"Naturally there is always rivalry between the captains of two top teams, especially if its Real Madrid and Barcelona. But the media makes it look like there's bad blood between us—there isn't. It's actually the opposite. I think we have more respect for each other because of it. Of course, we're not friends off the pitch either—I don't think we really could be. That doesn't really happen at our level. We respect each other for sure, but we wouldn't go out for dinner or anything."

Putellas later echoed these comments, saying "we can't be friends on the pitch, and we don't see each other much off of it... if we were both with the same country things might be different. But no, there is no hate between us."

In July 2022, after Putellas suffered an ACL injury that would rule her out of most of the 2022-23 season, Moriarty said that she wished her "a fast recovery," and that she would "miss her on the pitch."

When Valoria and Spain met in the final of the 2023 Women's World Cup, the Moriarty–Putellas rivalry exploded, with media labelling it as the "battle for the crown." After the match, which ended in a 2 - 1 victory for Valoria (and in which the pair scored all their countries' respective goals), Moriarty commented that "Putellas really is a fantastic player—she's the only person that makes me nervous when I see her across the pitch." Putellas, in turn, said she was "obviously disappointed with the result," and did not comment on Moriarty's performance, even when pressed. Reports in the media suggested the match had greatly strained their relationship, although Moriarty responded by saying "it didn't—we didn't have much of one to start."

Awards & Records

Moriarty is the only player to have won the Ballon d'Or Féminin, winning the award each of the five times it has been presented since 2018 (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023). She has won Best FIFA Women's Player fives times consecutively since 2018. Moriarty was Laureus Sportswoman of the Year in 2020, and was nominated in 2022 and 2023 (and is expected to be shortlisted for the 2024 award).

Moriarty has won four league titles, three in France and one in Spain. She had won the continental treble three times: with Lyon in 2018-19 and 2019-20, and with Real Madrid in 2022-23.

Moriarty has won an Olympic gold medal with Valoria from winning the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Moriarty won the 2023 Women's World Cup captaining Valoria, and finished third in 2019. In her two tournaments, she has won the most individual awards of any player: two Golden Balls (2019, 2023); two Golden Boots (11 goals in 2019, 18 goals in 2023); two Goals of the Tournament (2019, 2023); and 12 Player of the Match awards. She also won the Young Player Award at the 2019 World Cup, and holds the record for most goals in a single tournament (18 in 2023), and most goals overall at the World Cup (29).

On August 21st, 2023, upon being welcomed to back to Boston after winning the World Cup, PM Arthur Reinhardt nominated Moriarty as 39th inductee to the Order of the Osprey. President Benjamin Radcliffe affirmed the nomination two days later, and the National Assembly confirmed her in a unanimous vote on August 30th. She was formally inducted at a ceremony on December 12th, 2023.

Controversies

2022 Real Madrid Controversy

During and after the 2021-22 season, Moriarty made a number of comments criticizing the way Real Madrid Femenino was run, saying Real Madrid's parent organization did not care for the women's team. She also blamed head coach David Aznar for shortcomings as a leader and strategist, which led to a poor 2021-22 season, and demanded he be released.

Moriarty was met with some pushback due to these comments, with some saying she was more at fault for the club's poor performance. The situation seemed to escalate internally, to the point where Real Madrid president Florentino Perez stepped in, asking Moriarty to back down and publicly apologize to Aznar and the organization of Real Madrid. Instead, she released a statement threatening to leave the club (and hinting at joining Barcelona if she were to leave), unless structural changes were made and Aznar was released. The situation sparked widespread debate over whether Moriarty was in the right, and whether she would remain at the club for the remainder of her contract. Some pundits concluded she would be released before the start of the new season, whilst others believed the club would be unwilling to lose such a player for free, even despite her comments towards the rest of the organization.

On August 2nd, 2022, in a surprising turn of events, Real Madrid announced they would be releasing Aznar, replacing him with Alberto Toril. Moriarty said she was "pleased with the decision," and was now "keen to return to the pitch in white."

Doping Allegations

Moriarty has been the target of allegations of substance use on multiple occasions, with some attributing her skills and success to use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. She has taken multiple drug tests to disprove such allegations, all returning negative results.

2023 Women's World Cup Comments

Moriarty faced some backlash from comments made after her Round of 16 game against the United States at the 2023 Women's World Cup, in which she described the USWNT as "lifeless" and "a disaster," especially as compared to the team she had faced at the Olympics in 2021. Others, however, echoed her comments, saying the USWNT had delivered their worst performance in World Cup history.

Shortly after winning the competition, Moriarty doubled-down on her comments, saying: "They were definitely the worst team we faced this year. I scored against every other team we played, none of them were as easy as the Americans."

Image & Legacy

Moriarty is considered a cultural icon in Valoria,