Magdalena Eriksson

Magdalena Lilly Eriksson (also Ericsson; born 8 September 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays for Frauen-Bundesliga side Bayern Munich and the Sweden national team. Primarily a centre-back, she can also play as a left-back.

At the beginning of her professional career, Eriksson played for the Stockholm clubs Hammarby IF and Djurgårdens IF until she moved to Linköpings FC in 2013, where she won two cup titles and the league title in 2016 during her five years at the club.

In 2017, Eriksson moved to England and signed for Chelsea in the Women's Super League (WSL). There, she established herself as one of the best central defenders in the league and was named team captain in 2019. With Chelsea, she won five WSL titles, and also reached the final of the UEFA Women's Champions League in the 2020–21 season. In 2020, she was named Swedish Footballer of the Year.

Eriksson, like her partner Pernille Harder, is also known for her LGBTQ+ advocacy and LGBTQ+ rights in sport.

Club career
Eriksson began her football career with local team Enskede IK, but was encouraged by her father to join Hammarby IF in order to improve her game. Aged 17, she broke into Hammarby's first team in the 2011 Damallsvenskan season and made her debut against Umeå IK.

In November 2011, Eriksson left relegated Hammarby for their Stockholm rivals Djurgårdens IF. After scoring one goal in 19 appearances in the 2012 Damallsvenskan, she left Djurgården, who were facing relegation, and joined Linköpings FC.



In July 2017, after almost five years with Linköpings FC, Eriksson signed a two-year contract with Women's Super League team Chelsea Ladies. In August 2018, she extended her contract until 2021, and eventually became the team's captain in 2019. She extended her contract once again in November 2020, this time until 2023. On 9 December 2020, Eriksson made her 100th appearance for Chelsea in a 5–0 Champions League win over Benfica.

Her performances over the years, especially following Chelsea's WSL title-winning 2020–21 season, have seen Eriksson hailed as one of the best defenders in Europe. After six years with Chelsea, for whom she made over 180 appearances and won over 10 trophies, Eriksson left the club at the end of the 2022–23 season along with her partner Pernille Harder.

On 1 June 2023, Eriksson and Harder were unveiled as a new players of Frauen-Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, signing three-year contracts. In December's Champions League clash against Ajax, she suffered a broken metatarsal in her left foot, which required surgery. She returned to the team three months later, in March 2024, coming on as a second-half substitute during a 5–0 victory over RB Leipzig.

International career
As a Swedish under-19 international, Eriksson was part of the victorious squad at the 2012 U-19 European Championship. In November 2013, national team coach Pia Sundhage called her to a senior squad training camp at Bosön. Eriksson made her debut for the senior Sweden team in a 3–0 friendly defeat by France in Amiens on 8 February 2014. She was part of the Swedish squad that won silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Eriksson has since represented Sweden at every major tournament, namely UEFA Women's Euro 2017, 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, 2020 Summer Olympics, UEFA Women's Euro 2022, and 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. At the 2020 Olympics, she won the silver medal after Sweden lost to Canada in the final on penalties.

Personal life
Eriksson's mother is of Finnish descent. She is openly lesbian and, since 2014, in a relationship with Danish international Pernille Harder. On the 21st of July 2024 they announced their engagement after over a decade together.

Eriksson and Harder 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.

During her upbringing, she assumed her last name was spelled with a C because that was how her father spelled it. When she was 17 and looked in her passport she realised it was actually spelled with a K. As such, her last name is often misspelled as "Ericsson" rather than the correct "Eriksson".

Eriksson has a bachelor's degree in political science and took a course in feminist theory and intersectional power analysis.

International

 * Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Eriksson goal.

Honours
Linköpings FC
 * Damallsvenskan: 2016
 * Svenska Cupen: 2013–14, 2014–15

Chelsea
 * Women's Super League: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
 * Women's FA Cup: 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
 * FA Women's League Cup: 2019–20, 2020–21
 * FA Community Shield: 2020

Bayern Munich
 * Frauen-Bundesliga: 2023–24

Sweden U19
 * UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship: 2012

Sweden
 * Summer Olympic Games silver medal: 2016, 2020
 * FIFA Women's World Cup third place: 2019, 2023
 * Algarve Cup: 2018

Individual
 * Diamantbollen: 2020
 * Fotbollsgalan – Swedish Defender of the Year: 2020, 2021
 * FIFA FIFPro World XI: 2021
 * FA WSL PFA Team of the Year: 2019–20, 2020–21