Jennifer Hermoso Fuentes (born 9 May 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the Spain national team. She is the all-time top scorer for Spain and holds the record for the most Pichichi trophies with five. She was part of her country's championship team at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, where she won the Silver Ball.
Hermoso developed through the youth teams of her hometown club Atlético Madrid, where she stayed for eight years before joining Rayo Vallecano. She won her first senior title with Rayo in 2011, before signing with Tyresö FF of Sweden in 2013. She moved to FC Barcelona in 2014, where she changed her position from an attacking midfielder to a false 9. In her new position she became a prolific goalscorer, winning two Spanish league titles, two Copas de la Reina, and two Pichichi titles as the league's top scorer.
In 2015, Hermoso played for Spain during their first appearance at the FIFA Women's World Cup. She left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, then returned to Atlético Madrid during the 2018–19 season, where she won her third Pichichi title and fourth league title.
Hermoso rejoined FC Barcelona in 2019 following Spain's exit from the 2019 Women's World Cup, where she was Spain's top scorer. In her final three seasons at Barcelona, she won three league titles, three Copas de la Reina, and the 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League, alongside the continental treble that same season. Individually, she finished both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 league seasons as the Primera División's top scorer; she finished 2020 and 2021 as the top scorer in Europe's top five women's leagues; and in 2021 she was the joint-top scorer in the UEFA Women's Champions League. At the end of 2021, she finished second in Ballon d'Or voting and was the world's highest female goalscorer of the calendar year with 51 goals.
In 2022, Hermoso signed for C.F. Pachuca of Mexico. The following year, she was a member of the Spain squad that won the 2023 Women's World Cup. During the medal ceremony, she was kissed by then-RFEF president Luis Rubiales, an event that would later be called the Rubiales case.
Early life Jennifer Hermoso Fuentes was born on 9 May 1990, in Carabanchel, a working-class neighbourhood in southern Madrid. She is the granddaughter of Antonio Hernández, a former goalkeeper for Atlético Madrid. As a child, he would take her to watch Atlético's matches at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. Hermoso grew up playing futsal and seven-a-side football, often with boys. Her football idols were Ana Belen Fernandez, Ronaldinho and Zinedine Zidane. She began playing for Atlético Madrid at age twelve with encouragement from her father and grandfather. Hermoso has a younger sister named Sofia.
Club career Atlético Madrid (2004–2010) After developing with the youth teams of Atlético Madrid, Hermoso made her senior team debut in the Segunda División on 5 December 2004, at age 14. In her first match, she scored a goal in a 6–0 victory over Vicálvaro. During the 2005–06 season, she played 16 games and scored 12 goals, including a goal against UE L'Estartit that secured Atlético's promotion to the Superliga. After eight years of playing with the club, Hermoso left in 2010.
Rayo Vallecano (2010–2013) Hermoso's signing to Rayo Vallecano was announced on 5 July 2010, alongside 7 other new signings. Rayo, which won the 2009–10 Superliga, were automatically qualified to the 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League Round of 32. Hermoso scored her first Champions League goals against Icelandic club Valur. Rayo reached the knockout stages, where they were eliminated by Arsenal. In the final of the 2010–11 Superliga, Rayo Vallecano played RCD Espanyol in a two-legged tie. In the first leg, Hermoso scored a penalty kick which gave Rayo the lead before Espanyol equalised the score. Hermoso went on to score the tie-winning goal in the return leg, winning her first ever league title and Rayo's third.
In qualification for the 2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League, Hermoso scored two goals against Estonian club Pärnu. In the final match of qualifying, Hermoso scored her first Champions League hat-trick against Slovenian team ŽNK Krka. Rayo finished the qualification round with 3 wins from 3 matches to advance to the Round of 32 of the Champions League, where Hermoso scored her first Champions League knockout round goal against Valur. Rayo was eliminated in the Round of 16, again against Arsenal.
Hermoso left Rayo in 2013 during the Nueva Rumasa scandal that left Rayo's women's team without financial support.
Tyresö FF (2013)
After leaving Rayo Vallecano, Hermoso signed with the Swedish club Tyresö FF for the 2013 season. The move to Sweden was Hermoso's first time playing football outside of Spain.
Hermoso debuted with Tyresö in the Champions League on 9 October against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). She then played two other Champions League matches with the club, one against PSG and another against Fortuna Hjørring. Hermoso left the club in December after scoring 6 goals in 20 league matches. Tyresö would end up being runners-up in the Damallsvenskan and runners-up in the Champions League.
FC Barcelona (2014–2017)
2013–14 season At the end of the 2013 Damallsvenskan season, Hermoso contacted then-coach Xavi Llorens about playing for FC Barcelona Femení. In January 2014, she joined Barcelona on a 6-month contract. On 12 April 2014, Hermoso scored Barcelona's third and final goal in a match against Atlético Madrid, which clinched the club's third league title. On 21 June, Hermoso started the 2014 Copa de la Reina final against Athletic Club Femenino, which went to a penalty shootout after being tied 1–1 in extra time. Hermoso scored her penalty kick and won her first Copa de la Reina trophy.
2014–15 season Hermoso was cup-tied with Tyresö for the 2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League season, and was unable to make her debut with Barcelona in the competition until the 2014–15 season. On 22 April 2015, Hermoso won her second Spanish league title with Barcelona and her third overall.
2015–16 season In her second full season at the club, Hermoso moved farther up the pitch to play as a false 9. In her new position, she began to develop into a prolific goalscorer. She scored her first Champions League goal for Barcelona against the Kazakh team BIIK Kazygurt. In the 2016 Copa de la Reina final against Atlético Madrid, Hermoso scored two goals as Barcelona was defeated 3–2. At the end of the league season, Hermoso earned her first Pichichi title after scoring 24 goals.
2016–17 season
In February 2017, Hermoso was nominated to the 2016 FIFPro Women's World 11 for the first time. She was selected as 9th among the 15 players in the midfielder category. In March 2017, Hermoso scored a header against FC Rosengård in the quarter-finals of the 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League to help send Barcelona to their first ever Champions League semi-final. On 2 May, she scored 6 goals in a 13–0 win over the Basque club Oiartzun. Hermoso finished as the top league scorer for the second season in a row, with 35 goals in 27 matches.
In the 2017 Copa de la Reina final in June, Hermoso scored twice to win her second Copa de la Reina title with Barcelona. Hermoso scored a total of 77 goals in 90 games during her first 3-year stint at Barcelona.
Paris Saint-Germain (2017–2018) On 3 July 2017, Hermoso signed a three-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). At PSG, she played more as a midfielder than as a forward under coach Patrice Lair. She debuted with the team on 10 September in a 3–0 win over Rodez, and scored her first goal on 17 December. With PSG she played 19 of the 22 league games and scored 6 goals. She was the team's leader in assists, with seven. PSG finished second in Division 1 that season, securing a spot in the 2018–19 UEFA Women's Champions League, and also won the 2017–2018 Coupe de France. On 10 August 2018, PSG reported a mutual termination of contract with Hermoso; manager Olivier Echouafni said she was homesick for Spain.
Atlético Madrid (2018–2019)
After playing one season at Paris Saint-Germain, Hermoso returned to Spain and re-joined Atlético Madrid on 10 August 2018. She was a key player in Atlético winning their third consecutive league title. At the end of the season, Hermoso had scored 24 goals to earn her first Pichichi title with the club and her third overall. Atlético was the runner-up in the 2018–19 Copa de la Reina. Hermoso was named the ninth-best playmaker of 2018 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and the best Spanish player of 2018 by The Guardian. She was named to the league's Best XI of the season.
FC Barcelona (2019–2022)
2019–20 season Hermoso returned to FC Barcelona after two seasons away, signing a three-year contract in July 2019. In her first match back on 6 September, she scored a hat-trick within 18 minutes against CD Tacón (now known as Real Madrid Femenino). On 1 March 2020, Hermoso scored her 100th league goal with Barcelona with a hat-trick against Madrid CFF.
By May, the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in the cancellation of the 2019–20 league season, and Barcelona was crowned the winner with 21 matchdays remaining. Hermoso finished as the league's top scorer with 23 goals, as well as the top scorer in Europe's top five leagues. When the 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League resumed in August, she competed in Barcelona's remaining matches as her club was eliminated in the semi-finals against VfL Wolfsburg. At the end of the campaign, Hermoso was named to the UEFA Women's Champions League Squad of the Season for the first time.
Due to the pandemic, the 2019–20 Copa de la Reina was postponed until it could be played during the 2020–21 season. Hermoso played the final of the 2019–20 Copa de la Reina on 13 February 2021, where she scored Barcelona's third and final goal against EdF Logroño. It was her third Copa de la Reina title with the club.
2020–21 season On 5 December 2020, Hermoso recorded four goals in one league match against Santa Teresa CD, scoring her 124th goal with Barcelona and surpassing Sonia Bermúdez as FC Barcelona Femeni's all-time top scorer. She then overtook Bermúdez's record number of 108 league goals scored with Barcelona. At the end of 2020, Hermoso was nominated for FIFA's The Best award, alongside teammate Caroline Graham Hansen. She was also one of eight FCB Femení players nominated for UEFA Women's Team of the Year.
Hermoso became the first Spanish player and the first player from the Spanish league to be recognized as the top scorer in the UEFA Women's Champions League; with six goals, she was tied with Fran Kirby. She was also named to the UEFA Women's Champions League Squad of the Season for the second time. Later in the year, Hermoso won the UEFA Women's Champions League Forwards of the Season award.
During the 2020–21 season, Hermoso competed with Levante's Esther González to be the league's top scorer. Their race for the Pichichi trophy continued until the final matchday of the league. Hermoso, who had 28 goals to González's 29, scored a hat-trick against Eibar to earn her third consecutive Pichichi title and fifth overall, surpassing Sonia Bermúdez for the most Pichichi titles. Hermoso ended her season with 31 league goals and finished as the top scorer in Europe's top five leagues for the second consecutive season. In August 2021, she was a finalist for the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award alongside Barcelona teammates Alexia Putellas and Lieke Martens.
2021–22 season