Utah Royals acquire Mexican forward Kiana Palacios from América
The Utah Royals have acquired Mexico international forward Kiana Palacios from Liga MX Femenil club Club América, as announced by the NWSL team on Tuesday.
An ESPN source indicated that Utah paid an $800,000 transfer fee for Palacios, which is thought to be the second-highest outgoing transfer from Liga MX Femenil, following Lizbeth Ovalle’s $1.5 million transfer from Tigres to the Orlando Pride last summer. That amount was a world record at that time.
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The Royals opted not to reveal the transfer fee. Club América announced Palacios’ exit last week.
Palacios is a consistent member of Mexico’s women’s national team.
At the club level, she holds the record as América’s all-time leading scorer with 90 goals across 174 league matches. She played a key role in helping América secure the 2023 Clausura title.
She joins a Utah team that requires additional goal-scoring support. The Royals netted only 28 goals in 26 matches last season, ranking third-lowest in the NWSL.
Palacios was born in Orange, California, and played college soccer at the University of California-Irvine. She was selected by Gotham FC (formerly Sky Blue FC) in 2018 but did not sign with them, beginning her professional career later that year at Real Sociedad in Spain.
Palacios contributed to Real Sociedad’s victory in the 2019 Copa de la Reina, scoring a goal in a 2-1 triumph over Atlético Madrid in the final.
She made the move to América in 2021.
Utah will kick off the new NWSL season on March 14 against the Kansas City Current, the 2025 NWSL Shield champions.
