Matildas captain Sam Kerr has signed a two-year contract extension with English football club Chelsea, that will see her remain at the club until mid-2024.
“It’s really exciting. I’m really happy at the club. We’ve had good success. Being at a club like Chelsea is an amazing opportunity,” Kerr said about the contract extension.
“The time was just right, I feel really comfortable being here. I think the club gives me every opportunity to succeed as a player. I can’t see myself going anywhere else in the world or leaving Europe, having what I have at Chelsea. Just like signing here the first time, it just happened naturally.”
Since signing with Chelsea in 2019, Kerr has taken home the Golden Boot for the Barclays Women’s Super League 2020/21 season, scoring 21 goals in 22 matches. She’s the first player to achieve the Golden Boot accolade across three different continents, having previously been the top scorer in Australia and the United States.
“I don’t go out there to win golden boots, I just go out there to give everything I can to the team and help the team to succeed and win trophies. I’m not going to lie, it’s nice when I do win them but that’s not my main goal at the start of the year,” Kerr said.
At Chelsea, Kerr has helped her team secure back-to-back league and Continental Cup wins, with Chelsea also reaching the Women’s Champions League final for the first time in its history.
Here to stay 💙 SK2024 https://t.co/6bSrmlMwuM
— Sam Kerr (@samkerr1) November 16, 2021
Speaking about signing the contract extension in an interview with Chelsea FC, Kerr said the decision to stay put was a “no-brainer”.
“The team speaks for itself, every day at training playing with world-class players; getting challenged every day and winning trophies at the same time. I hadn’t won much when I came here and after last season, I think it’s just a no-brainer for me to stay,” she said.
Kerr also said all the work she has put in at Chelsea helped her play better for Australia during the Olympics.
“At the start of being at Chelsea it was a little bit tough and there were challenges. But once I came out of that, I became better as a player,” Kerr said.
“Going into my national team, after the Olympics, I had a good Olympic tournament and I just realised that everything I had done throughout the year that Chelsea has offered me, and the coaches had done, and every little bit of work that I had done throughout the season, prepared me to be able to perform at my best at the Olympics.
“Playing for my national team is really important to me. As well as being with a great club, they set you up to have a great career at your national team.”
Kerr is currently on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or, and was recently nominated for BBC’s Footballer of the Year.