Pernille Harder

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Pernille Harder
Harder with VfL Wolfsburg in 2019
Personal information
Full name Pernille Mosegaard Harder
Date of birth (1992-11-15) 15 November 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth Ikast, Denmark
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, forward
Team information
Current team
Bayern Munich
Number 21
Youth career
1997–2005 Tulstrup-Faurholt
2005–2007 Ikast
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Team Viborg
2010–2012 Skovbakken 27 (22)
2012–2016 Linköping 88 (71)
2017–2020 VfL Wolfsburg 75 (68)
2020–2023 Chelsea 48 (24)
2023– Bayern Munich 11 (5)
International career
2007 Denmark U16 3 (0)
2007–2009 Denmark U17 23 (9)
2009–2011 Denmark U19 15 (13)
2009– Denmark 148 (75)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Denmark
UEFA Women's Championship
Silver medal – second place 2017 Netherlands Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 March 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 February 2024

Pernille Mosegaard Harder (born 15 November 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Frauen-Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Denmark national team. In September 2020, she became the world's most expensive female footballer following her transfer from VfL Wolfsburg to Chelsea,[1] but the record was broken in September 2022 by Keira Walsh when she was signed to Barcelona.[2] She is considered one of the best footballers in the world.[3][4]

Harder won the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award in 2018 and 2020.[5]

Harder, like her partner Magdalena Eriksson, is also known for her LGBTQ+ advocacy and LGBTQ+ rights in sport.[6][7]

Club career

Harder in the Euro 2017 semifinal against Austria.

Early career

Harder played for Team Viborg and IK Skovbakken in her native Denmark's Elitedivisionen.[8] Skovbakken had made Harder and her contemporary Sofie Junge Pedersen contracted players in April 2010, in recognition of their exceptional potential.[9]

Linköpings FC

Harder chose Swedish club Linköpings FC for her next destination because she wanted a new challenge, but also because she wanted to remain in Scandinavia. In September 2013 she scored all four goals in Linköpings' 4–1 win at relegation-bound Sunnanå SK.[10]

In the 2015 Damallsvenskan season, Harder scored 17 goals in 22 appearances for Linköping, winning a series of national awards including Årets Anfallare (English: Forward of the Year) and Årets Allsvenska Spelare (English: League Player of the Year). At the annual awards gala, she shared the stage with male winner Zlatan Ibrahimović and was described as "hyper-talented" and "world-class" by Swedish national coach Pia Sundhage.[11][12] Harder was also voted Danish Football Player of the Year in 2015.[13] In June 2016, Harder was among 30 local worthies to be named in a Wall of Fame by Linköping Municipality.[14]

Harder enjoyed further success in the 2016 Damallsvenskan 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.[15] 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.[16]

VfL Wolfsburg

In December 2016, it was announced that Harder had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with VfL Wolfsburg running from January 2017. In all four seasons with the team, Harder won the Bundesliga and German Cup double. She was top scorer in the league twice: in the 2017–18 season with 17 goals scored, and in the 2019–20 season with 27 goals. Thanks to these performances, she won the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award twice for the 2017-18[17] and 2019-20[18] seasons. She also played in two Champions League finals (2018 and 2020), losing both to Lyon.[19] In 2020, she was elected best forward of the Champions League[20] and best player of the German Championship.[21]

Chelsea

On 1 September 2020, Harder signed for Chelsea on a three-year contract for a world-record fee for a female footballer, reportedly in excess of £250,000.[22] In the 2020–21 Champions League quarter-finals, she scored in both legs against her former club VfL Wolfsburg.[23] In the group stage of the 2022–23 Champions League she scored a hattrick against KF Vllaznia Shkodër. On the 18th November 2022 she suffered a serious thigh injury on national team duty against Austria that required surgery and sidelining her for five months. She made her comeback against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final on April 22, 2023. In the FA Cup final against Manchester United she gave the assist for the victory goal for Sam Kerr in front of a record crowd of 77,390 people.

Bayern Munich

On 1 June 2023, it was announced that Harder, along with partner and former Chelsea teammate Magdalena Eriksson, had signed for Bayern Munich on a three-year deal.[24]

International career

At the inaugural 2008 U-17 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.[25] Still 16 years old, she contributed a hat-trick to a crushing 15–0 win over Georgia in her senior international debut in October 2009, and she has continued to score regularly for the Danish team ever since.[26]

Harder scored further hat-tricks against Austria and Armenia in 2011 and Russia in 2013.[27] She was named in national coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller's Denmark squad for Euro 2013.[28] With nine goals she had been the team's top goalscorer in qualifying.[29]

She played in the Algarve Cup in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015, but had an injury in 2014. In October 2013, Harder won her 50th cap for Denmark in a 1–1 draw with Serbia. She scored Denmark's goal in the match.[30] In March 2016, Harder was appointed captain of the national team.[31]

In 2017, she was named in national coach Nils Nielsen's Denmark squad for the Euro 2017. She captained the team to the final and scored a goal in Denmark's 4–2 defeat by hosts the Netherlands. She was voted runner-up to Lieke Martens in the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award for 2016–17.[32] On 16 September 2021, she broke Merete Pedersen's 12.5-year-long national record, becoming the record goalscorer of the Denmark national team, with her 66 goal in her 129 games.[33] In the successful qualifying for the Euro 2022 she was used in all ten games and scored eight goals. She was called up for the Euro 2022 and scored the only goal for Denmark, but was eliminated with the national team in the group stage.

In qualifying for the 2023 World Cup, she was used four times and scored two goals.

In July she was nominated for the 2023 FIFA World Cup.[34] She scored one goal and gave one assist, but was knocked out with Denmark after the round of 16 by Australia. It was the first time since 1995, that Denmark reached a knockout stage at a World Cup.

Personal life

Since May 2014, Harder has been in a relationship with current Bayern Munich teammate and Swedish international, Magdalena Eriksson.[32][35][36]

Herself and 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.[7]

She has a Master's degree in Business administration.[37]

She grew up as an avid Manchester United fan.[38]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 March 2024.[39][40]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental[c] Other[d] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
VSK Aarhus 2010–11 Elitedivisionen 18 12 4 6 22 18
2011–12 Elitedivisionen 18 13 3 4 21 17
Total 36 25 7 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 35
Linköpings 2012 Damallsvenskan 10 3 0 0 10 3
2013 Damallsvenskan 21 18 4 2 25 20
2014 Damallsvenskan 14 9 6 10 6 1 26 20
2015 Damallsvenskan 21 17 5 3 1 0 27 20
2016 Damallsvenskan 22 24 1 4 1 0 24 28
Total 88 71 16 19 0 0 6 1 2 0 112 91
VfL Wolfsburg 2016–17 Bundesliga 12 6 3 2 2 0 17 8
2017–18 Bundesliga 21 17 3 2 8 8 32 27
2018–19 Bundesliga 21 18 5 5 6 8 32 31
2019–20 Bundesliga 21 27 5 2 7 9 33 38
Total 75 68 16 11 0 0 23 25 0 0 114 104
Chelsea 2019–20 FA WSL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2020–21 FA WSL 22 10 3 1 4 3 9 4 38 18
2021–22 FA WSL 16 6 4 3 3 4 4 2 27 15
2022–23 WSL 10 8 1 0 0 0 4 3 15 11
Total 48 24 9 4 7 7 17 9 0 0 81 44
FC Bayern München 2023–24 Bundesliga 8 2 3 4 3 0 14 6
Total 8 2 3 4 0 0 3 0 0 0 14 6
Career total 255 190 51 48 7 7 50 35 2 0 364 280

International

Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Harder goal.
List of international goals scored by Pernille Harder
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 24 October 2009 Vejle, Denmark  Georgia 3–0 15–0 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
2 7–0
3 12–0
4 3 October 2010  Switzerland 1–3 1–3
5 21 September 2011 Yerevan, Armenia  Armenia 3–0 5–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualification
6 22 October 2011 Vejle, Denmark  Austria 1–0 3–0
7 2–0
8 3–0
9 23 November 2011  Armenia 4–0 11–0
10 6–0
11 10–0
12 8 December 2011 São Paulo, Brazil  Chile 4–0 4–0 2011 International Tournament of São Paulo
13 11 December 2011  Italy 2–2 2–2
14 13 December 2011  Brazil 1–0 1–2
15 4 April 2012 Prague, Czech Republic  Czech Republic 2–0 2–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualification
16 19 September 2012 Vejle, Denmark  Portugal 1–0 2–0
17 9 December 2012 São Paulo, Brazil  Mexico 3–0 5–0 2012 International Tournament of São Paulo
18 13 March 2013 Lagos, Portugal  Mexico 2–0 3–0 2013 Algarve Cup
19 8 April 2013 Horsens, Denmark  Russia 3–1 5–1 Friendly
20 4–1
21 5–1
22 25 September 2013 Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 2–0 4–0
23 4–0
24 26 October 2013 Belgrade, Serbia  Serbia 1–0 1–1 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
25 24 November 2013 Valletta, Malta  Malta 3–0 5–0
26 19 June 2014 Tel Aviv, Israel  Israel 2–0 5–0
27 21 August 2014 Reykjavik, Iceland  Iceland 1–0 1–0
28 11 March 2015 Albufeira, Portugal  Norway 1–3 2–5 2015 Algarve Cup
29 2–5
30 8 April 2015 Stockholm, Sweden  Sweden 3–3 3–3 Friendly
31 22 October 2015 Viborg, Denmark  Moldova 2–0 4–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualification
32 2 June 2016  Slovakia 1–0 4–0
33 7 June 2016  Poland 2–0 6–0
34 4–0
35 15 September 2016 Chișinău, Moldova  Moldova 2–0 5–0
36 3–0
37 5–0
38 28 November 2016 Turbize, Belgium  Belgium 2–0 3–1 Friendly
39 3–1
40 20 January 2017 Larnaca, Cyprus  Scotland 1–0 2–2
41 6 March 2017 Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal  Russia 1–0 6–1 2016 Algarve Cup
42 2–1
43 4–1
44 8 March 2017 Albufeira, Portugal  Australia 1–1 1–1
45 11 April 2017 Slagelse, Denmark  Finland 1–0 5–0 Friendly
46 1 July 2017 Gladsaxe, Denmark  England 1–1 1–2
47 6 August 2017 Enschede, Netherlands  Netherlands 2–2 2–4 UEFA Women's Euro 2017
48 19 August 2017 Győr, Hungary  Hungary 3–1 6–1 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
49 24 October 2017 Zaprešić, Croatia  Croatia 1–0 4–0
50 2–0
51 2 March 2018 Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal  Netherlands 1–0 2–3 2018 Algarve Cup
52 8 June 2018 Lviv, Ukraine  Ukraine 3–0 5–1 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
53 12 June 2018 Viborg, Denmark  Hungary 5–1 5–1
54 4 March 2019 Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal  China 1–0 1–0 2019 Algarve Cup
55 29 August 2019 Viborg, Denmark  Malta 2–0 8–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
56 3 September 2019 Ramat Gan, Israel  Israel 3–0 3–0
57 12 November 2019 Viborg, Denmark  Georgia 7–0 14–0
58 10–0
59 12–0
60 4 March 2020 Parchal, Portugal  Norway 1–0 1–2 2020 Algarve Cup
61 10 March 2020 Lagos, Portugal  Belgium 1–0 4–0
62 22 September 2020 Ta' Qali, Malta  Malta 5–0 8–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying
63 21 October 2020 Viborg, Denmark  Israel 1–0 4–0
64 2–0
65 13 April 2021 Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff  Wales 1–0 1–1 Friendly
66 16 September 2021 Viborg, Denmark  Malta 4–0 7–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
67 21 October 2021 Viborg, Denmark Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 7–0 8–0
68 12 June 2022 Wiener Neustadt, Austria  Austria 1–1 2–1 Friendly
69 12 July 2022 Milton Keynes, England  Finland 1–0 1–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2022
70 1 September 2022 Viborg, Denmark  Montenegro 2–1 5–1 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
71 1 July 2023 Perth, Australia  Haiti 1–0 2–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
72 26 September 2023 Cardiff, Wales  Wales 1–0 5-1 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League
73 2–0
74 5–1
75 28 February 2024 Marbella, Spain  Austria 1–1 1–1 Friendly

Honours

Harder (#16) playing for Linköpings in the UEFA Women's Champions League, 2014

Linköpings

VfL Wolfsburg

Chelsea

Denmark

Individual

References

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External links