Pernille Mosegaard Harder (born 15 November 1992) is a Danish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
or a
forward for
FA Women's Super League
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...
club
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
and the
Denmark national team. In September 2020, she became the world's most expensive female footballer following her transfer from
VfL Wolfsburg
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
to Chelsea, but the record was broken in September 2022 by
Keira Walsh when she was signed to Barcelona .
Harder, who is also known for her
LGBTQ+
' is an Acronym, initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term for Sexuality and gende ...
advocacy, won the
UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award
The UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award (previously known as the UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award) is an association football award given to the female footballer that is considered the best player playing for a women's football club in ...
in 2018 and 2020.
Club career
Denmark
![Pernille Harder 2013 No4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Pernille_Harder_2013_No4.JPG)
Harder played for Team Viborg and
IK Skovbakken in her native Denmark's
Elitedivisionen. Skovbakken had made Harder and her contemporary
Sofie Junge Pedersen contracted players in April 2010, in recognition of their exceptional potential.
Linköpings FC
Harder chose Swedish club
Linköpings FC
Linköpings Fotboll Club is an association football club from Linköping, Sweden. The club was established in 2003 when Kenty DFF women's football club decided to merge with the premier division ice hockey club Linköpings HC under the new name L ...
for her next destination because she wanted a new challenge, but also because she wanted to remain in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
. In September 2013 she scored all four goals in Linköpings' 4–1 win at
relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
-bound
Sunnanå SK.
In the
2015 Damallsvenskan
2015 Damallsvenskan was the 27th season of the Swedish women's association football top division, Damallsvenskan. It was played between 11 April 2015 and 18 October 2015. FC Rosengård were the defending champions, having won the competition in 201 ...
season, Harder scored 17 goals in 22 appearances for Linköping, winning a series of national awards including Årets Anfallare ( en, Forward of the Year) and Årets Allsvenska Spelare ( en, League Player of the Year). At the annual awards gala, she shared the stage with male winner
Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimović (, ; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the Sweden national team. Ibrahimović is renowned for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, powerful long-range sho ...
and was described as "hyper-talented" and "world-class" by Swedish national coach
Pia Sundhage
Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. She is the head coach of the Brazil women's national team. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired a ...
. Harder was also voted
Danish Football Player of the Year The Danish Player of the Year award is an annual prize, which has been given to the best male Danish football player by the Danish Football Association since 1963. The winner is decided in a vote among the professional Danish footballers. Since 20 ...
in 2015. In June 2016, Harder was among 30 local worthies to be named in a Wall of Fame by
Linköping Municipality
Linköping Municipality (''Linköpings kommun'') is a municipality in Östergötland County in southern Sweden. With more than 165,000 inhabitants, it is the fifth largest municipality in Sweden.
The municipality is bordered in the west by Motal ...
.
Harder enjoyed further success in the
2016 Damallsvenskan
The 2016 Damallsvenskan is the 28th season of the Swedish women's association football top division, Damallsvenskan. FC Rosengård were the defending champions, having won the competition in 2015.
Linköpings FC is the champion of the season.
...
season, retaining the League Player of the Year award. Her 23 league goals secured the Top Goalscorer award and helped Linköping win the Damallsvenskan title. By now a transfer target for the biggest clubs in women's football, Harder's agent announced in November 2016 that she would be leaving Linköping for a new challenge.
VfL Wolfsburg
In December 2016, it was announced that Harder had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with
VfL Wolfsburg
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
running from January 2017. In all four seasons with the team, Harder won the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
and
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
double. She also played in two
Champions League finals (
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
and
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
), losing both to
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
.
Chelsea
On 1 September 2020, Harder signed for
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
on a three-year contract for a world-record fee for a female footballer, reportedly in excess of £250,000. In the
2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League
The 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 20th edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA, and the 12th edition since being rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League.
The final was held at the G ...
quarter-finals, she scored in both legs against her former club VfL Wolfsburg.
International career
At the inaugural
2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand, Harder was part of the Denmark team who won their group before losing 4–0 to eventual champions North Korea in the quarter-final. Still 16 years old, she contributed a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
to a crushing 15–0 win over
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
in her senior international debut in October 2009, and she has continued to score regularly for the Danish team ever since.
Harder scored further hat-tricks against
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
in 2011 and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
in 2013. She was named in national coach
Kenneth Heiner-Møller's
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
squad for
UEFA Women's Euro 2013
The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held in Sweden from 10 to 28 July 2013, became the mos ...
. With nine goals she had been the team's top goalscorer in qualifying.
In October 2013, Harder won her 50th
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
for Denmark in a 1–1 draw with
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
. She scored Denmark's goal in the match. In March 2016, Harder was appointed
captain of the national team.
In 2017, she was named in national
coach Nils Nielsen
Nils Herbert Kromann Nielsen (born 3 November 1971) is a Danish football manager. Since 14 November 2018, he is the head coach of the Switzerland women's national football team.
Nielsen is best known for his tenure with the Denmark women's natio ...
's
Denmark squad for the
UEFA Women's Euro 2017
The 2017 UEFA European Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2017, was the 12th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the women's national tea ...
. She captained the team to the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
and scored a goal in Denmark's 4–2 defeat by hosts
the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. She was voted runner-up to
Lieke Martens
Lieke Elisabeth Petronella Martens (; born 16 December 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger or midfielder for Division 1 Féminine club Paris Saint-Germain and the Netherlands national team.
Martens began her profess ...
in the
UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award
The UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award (previously known as the UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award) is an association football award given to the female footballer that is considered the best player playing for a women's football club in ...
for 2016–17.
On 16 September 2021, she became the record goalscorer of the Denmark national team, with her 66 goal in her 129 games. She was called up for the
UEFA Women's Euro 2022
The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UE ...
and scored the only goal for denmark, but was eliminated with the national team in the group stage.
Personal life
Since May 2014, Harder has been in a relationship with current
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
teammate and Swedish international,
Magdalena Eriksson
Magdalena Lilly Eriksson (also Ericsson, born 8 September 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Chelsea Women in the English Women's Super League as well as for the Swedish national team. .
She and Magdalena Eriksson work with the charity
Common Goal and pledged 1% of their salaries to help tackle social issues throughout football. The couple also both push for equality and LGBTQ+ rights in sport.
She has a
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in
Business administration.
She grew up as an avid
Manchester United fan.
Career statistics
Club
.
International
:''Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Harder goal.''
Honours
![Linköpings FC v Zvezda 2005 a 29 0262 (15743921465)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Link%C3%B6pings_FC_v_Zvezda_2005_a_29_0262_%2815743921465%29.jpg)
Linköpings
*
Damallsvenskan
The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ''ladies all-Swedish'' and also known as OBOS Damallsvenskan for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred to as the women's Allsvenskan. The term Allsvenskan ...
:
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
*
Svenska Cupen
Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compe ...
: 2014, 2015; runner-up: 2016
*
Svenska Supercupen
Svenska Supercupen, ''Swedish Super Cup'', was a one-off fixture in Swedish football played between the Allsvenskan champions and the winners of Svenska Cupen. The fixture was played in November, after the Allsvenskan season.
In the event of a ...
runner up: 2015, 2016
VfL Wolfsburg
*
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
:
2016–17,
2017–18,
2018–19,
2019–20
*
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
:
2016–17,
2017–18,
2018–19,
2019–20
*
UEFA Women's Champions League
The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA.
The ...
runner-up:
2017–18,
2019–20
Chelsea
*
FA Women's Super League
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...
:
2020–21,
2021–22
*
Women's FA Cup
The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship rea ...
:
2020–21,
2021–22
*
FA Women's League Cup
The FA Women's League Cup is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since the WSL's restructuring to two divisions, it has featured 23 teams. Pri ...
:
2020–21
* UEFA Women's Champions League runner-up:
2020–21
Denmark
*
UEFA Women's Euro
The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalent ...
runner-up:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
Individual
* Danish Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2010
*
Danish Football Player of the Year The Danish Player of the Year award is an annual prize, which has been given to the best male Danish football player by the Danish Football Association since 1963. The winner is decided in a vote among the professional Danish footballers. Since 20 ...
: 2012, 2015,
2016, 2017, 2018,
2019, 2020
*
Damallsvenskan
The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ''ladies all-Swedish'' and also known as OBOS Damallsvenskan for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred to as the women's Allsvenskan. The term Allsvenskan ...
's Most Valuable Player: 2015, 2016
* Damallsvenskan Forward of the Year: 2015, 2016
* Damallsvenskan Top scorer:
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
*
FIFPro: FIFA FIFPro World XI: 2017, 2020
*
UEFA Women's European Championship All Star Team: 2017
*
Goal 50: 2017
*
UEFA Women's Champions League Squad of the Season: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
*
IFFHS Women's World Team: 2017, 2018, 2020
* Frauen-Bundesliga Top scorer: 2017–18, 2019–20
*
UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award
The UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award (previously known as the UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe Award) is an association football award given to the female footballer that is considered the best player playing for a women's football club in ...
: 2017–18, 2019–20
* UEFA Women's Champions League Top scorer:
2018–19
*
UEFA Champions League Forward of the Season:
2019–20
*
The 100 Best Female Footballers In The World Winner: 2018, 2020
* Niedersachsens Fußballer des Jahres: 2020
*
Women's Footballer of the Year (Germany)
The title Footballer of the Year (German: ''Fußballer des Jahres'') has been awarded in Germany since 1960. Eligible are German players as well as non-German players playing in Germany. In 1996, the title Women's Footballer of the Year (German ...
: 2020
* ''
World Soccer''s Women's World Player of the Year: 2020
*
IFFHS World's Best Woman Player: 2020
*
IFFHS UEFA Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020
*
FA Women's Super League
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...
Goal of the Month:
September 2021
*Nominated for the
Ballon d'Or Féminin
The Ballon d'Or Féminin (), also known as the Women's Ballon d'Or, is an association football award presented by '' France Football'' that honours the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. It was first awarded in 20 ...
(2018 2.place), (2019 14.place) (2021 7.place)
References
External links
*
*
*
Danish football stats at
DBU
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harder, Pernille
1992 births
Living people
Danish women's footballers
Denmark women's international footballers
Danish expatriate women's footballers
Danish expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate women's footballers in Germany
Danish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden
Danish expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate women's footballers in England
Damallsvenskan players
Linköpings FC players
Women's Super League players
VfL Wolfsburg (women) players
Chelsea F.C. Women players
People from Ikast-Brande Municipality
Women's association football forwards
Lesbian sportswomen
LGBT association football players
LGBT rights activists from Denmark
LGBT sportspeople from Denmark
FIFA Century Club
Sportspeople from the Central Denmark Region
UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players
UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players