"My first reaction was 'oh great', until I understood I was worth more. I'd never seen [a contract] before and have never been paid to play football.
"I discussed with senior Football Ferns about the ballpark salaries in the Scandanavian leagues, which directed me to fight for what I should actually be paid."
After learning from the experience of her own contract negotiations, Cleverley has advice for young female athletes.
"A lot of it comes from expectations. As a female entering a professional sports environment for the first time you don't know what to expect, so going into these situations it's important to talk about it."
After back-and-forth discussions, the Football Fern says she's "satisfied" and will continue to talk openly about her $46,000 salary.
To put her contract in perspective, All Whites midfielder Joe Bell, who followed the same pathway as Cleverley – the US college system then going pro in Denmark – was linked to a $1 million transfer deal last year. The average salary of men's players in the Danish league is reportedly almost $300,000.
"You can't hide the fact that men get paid more, and as women, we aren't expecting that much, because the movement is more on closing the gap. As sad as it is, in order to receive the equality that we deserve, you need to have men on board to create more momentum and investment."
Growing up in Tāmaki Makaurau, Cleverley received a scholarship at California Berkeley and then completed her master's at Georgetown University in Washington DC.
Her new club played in the most recent Champions League against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona, which will be a change of pace for the Kiwi.
"Playing pro, you don't have any academic responsibilities to worry about. You have to treat it like a fulltime job. You're also getting paid, so there is a little more pressure to perform."
The 21-cap Football Fern is looking to use the professional environment in the lead-up to the "once in a lifetime opportunity" to play a World Cup on home soil.
"Right now, my mind is set on being the best player possible for the Fifa World Cup in New Zealand and Australia next year."
