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Jeff Kassouf
Multiple Authors
The Utah Royals have officially signed Mexico international forward Kiana Palacios from Club América in Liga MX Femenil, as announced by the NWSL team on Tuesday.
According to sources, Utah paid an $800,000 transfer fee for Palacios, which ranks as the second-highest outgoing transfer from Liga MX Femenil, trailing only Lizbeth Ovalle‘s $1.5 million transfer from Tigres to the Orlando Pride last summer. At that time, it set a world record.
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The Royals did not disclose the transfer fee, and Club América announced Palacios’ exit last week.
Palacios is a key player for Mexico’s women’s national team.
At the club level, she holds the record as Club América’s all-time leading scorer, netting 90 goals in 174 league matches, and played a vital role in securing the 2023 Clausura title for the club.
Palacios arrives at a Utah team that struggled with goal-scoring, having only netted 28 goals in 26 games last season, ranking as the third-lowest in the NWSL.
Born in Orange, California, Palacios played college soccer at the University of California-Irvine. She was drafted by Gotham FC (then known as Sky Blue FC) in 2018 but did not sign with them and began her professional career later that year with Real Sociedad in Spain.
During her time at Real Sociedad, she helped the team clinch the 2019 Copa de la Reina, scoring a goal in the final against Atlético Madrid.
She made her move to América in 2021.
The Utah Royals will kick off the new NWSL season on March 14 against the Kansas City Current, who were the 2025 NWSL Shield winners.