West Ham United can confirm Dagný Brynjarsdóttir has departed the Club following the expiration of her contract.
The 33-year-old leaves after four-and-a-half years in east London, having played 87 times for the team she grew up supporting, while her 68 women's Super League games make her the Club's fourth-highest WSL appearance maker.
From scoring goals for fun and being crowned Hammer of the Year as captain in 2023, to giving birth to her second child, Andreas and starring in a Club-original documentary before making her return to the pitch, Brynjarsdóttir’s journey in Claret and Blue has been a special one.
“The first word that comes to mind when I think of West Ham United is ‘family’,” Brynjarsdóttir said. “I brought my family here four-and-a-half years ago and ever since, everyone at the Club has been so supportive. When you get to know the people in the building - the staff, the players - we’re one big family and that feeling will stay with me forever.
“Wearing the famous Claret and Blue has been the greatest honour of my life and something, as a little girl growing up in Iceland supporting West Ham, is something I could only dream about doing.
“Now that this chapter has now come to a close, I can look back on the last four-and-a-half years with real pride. I think that the Club is in a better place now and I’m proud of the role that I’ve played in creating that environment.
“The memories that I have created both on and off the pitch will stay with me forever. This definitely isn’t a goodbye, it’s a see you soon.”
In January 2021, a then 29-year-old Brynjarsdóttir made the move to east London from Selfoss, in her native Iceland. Following her arrival, the former Portland Thorns midfielder started every Barclays Women’s Super League match in the second half of the 2020/21 season.
The Iceland international's first goal for her childhood Club came in October of the following season, when a stooping back-post header helped the women’s team on their way to a 2-0 victory away at Manchester City.
Striking first against the Citizens proved to be one of four league goals Brynjarsdóttir would bag that term, which also included a second-half winner in a 1-0 victory over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Having been appointed captain ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, Brynjarsdóttir went on to enjoy her best-scoring season in Claret and Blue. With six goals in the WSL and eleven in all competitions, the No10 had well and truly made her mark in east London.
Having been so accustomed to celebrating goals, in August 2023 Brynjarsdóttir celebrated the wonderful news that she was expecting her second child, whom, following a gender reveal at Chadwell Heath training ground, she gave birth to in February 2024.
While she was away from the pitch, in March 2024, the Club released an industry-first documentary, Ómarsson, which followed the midfielder’s journey through pregnancy as a professional sportswoman and the barriers female athletes face when making the decision to become a mother.
Brynjarsdóttir’s return to action came in West Ham’s pre-season friendly against Paris Saint-Germain in August 2024 in Perth, Australia, before she netted her first goal since becoming a mum for the second time in Rehanne Skinner’s side’s 3-0 dispatching of Southampton in the Subway® Women’s League Cup in December 2024.
“From the first moment I started working with Dagný, her passion for the Club was evident,” Skinner said. “She knew what it meant to play for this badge - to represent the Club to the best of her ability - and in doing so, giving her all in driving herself and the team forwards.
“Her desire to win and her leadership qualities have been a real asset to the team throughout her time at the Club and has helped to lay the foundations for which this team will continue to build on moving forwards.
“On behalf of everyone at the Club, I would like to thank Dagný for her contributions to West Ham United over the years and wish her and her family all the very best in her next chapter.”
Everyone at West Ham United would like to thank Dagný for her service during her time in east London, and wish her and her family all the best for the future.
