Mary Earps Returns to WSL with London City Lionesses
Mary Earps has always liked a storyline. On Friday night, the script brings her straight back to the club that made her a global star.
The new London City Lionesses goalkeeper is set for a possible Women’s Super League return against Manchester United, the team she guarded for five seasons and left as England’s number one. To her, it feels like more than coincidence. It feels, as she put it, “meant to be”.
Back to the theatre
Earps, now 33, walks back into a league she helped elevate. At United she made more than 100 appearances, won an FA Cup and stood in goal as the club lifted their first major trophy in 2024. While in Manchester, she also became central to England’s modern era: a key figure in the Euro 2022 triumph and the run to the 2023 World Cup final.
Those performances dragged her into the mainstream. Fifa’s goalkeeper of the year – twice. BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023. A mural outside Old Trafford. One of the most recognisable faces in English sport, and one of its most influential voices.
The glare was relentless. It intensified again last November when her book sparked controversy and dominated headlines for weeks. Yet when she returned to Old Trafford with Paris St‑Germain in the Women’s Champions League last season, the reception cut through the noise.
“I got a nice reception at Old Trafford and it meant a great deal to me at that time,” she told BBC Sport. “United has changed a lot since I left, but I spent five wonderful years there and I made amazing memories. I won an FA Cup and met a lot of incredible people. I know the fans don’t change – they are still as hardcore as ever.”
The mural is still there. So are the memories. On Friday, she walks back into the spotlight again.
Paris, perspective and a step away from the storm
Earps left United chasing exactly what she found at PSG: Champions League football, trophies, and a different kind of pressure. Over two years in Paris she made 22 league appearances and, crucially, stepped away from the intensity of the English game.
“I’m grateful for all the amazing love and support that I’ve had over the years, but it was nice to be away,” she said. “PSG is a great club. Getting to experience the Parc des Princes, the French food, the Parisian way of life and the language – I think it was good for me.
“I’m an intense person, especially when I’m on the pitch, so it was good for me to be able to take a period of reflection away from the craziness in England. But that being said, I’m incredibly grateful for this platform that I’ve been given so it’s not a complaint. I went away to push myself out of my comfort zone.”
The book, the debate around it, the scrutiny – all of it followed her. Yet the distance helped. When her contract in France expired, the pull of home grew stronger.
“Of course, there’s always things that you miss. I’m very, very happy to be home,” she said. “I missed the English football culture – the way you feel when you walk into a stadium, the electricity of the crowd, the feeling around women’s football in this country.
“I knew I was probably going to miss that going away which is why I’m so excited to be back. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.”
A new project, familiar standards
Home, this time, is not Manchester but London City Lionesses – a club with serious ambition and, this summer, serious star power. Earps arrives alongside two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas and Spain defender Mapi Leon, a trio of signings that signals intent.
Reputation, though, does not guarantee a starting place. Earps has played in the club’s last two pre-season matches, but she knows the number one shirt is not hers by default. Elene Lete impressed last season and stands firmly in her way.
“The reality of it is that I’ve been here a few weeks and I’m trying to earn my place in the team every single day,” Earps said. “Elene did a great job last year and it won’t be easy between us to see who starts. I think that is another great thing about being part of a fantastic squad.
“I just want to contribute to the team’s success and hopefully that is playing a lot of games and being a part of their history in some small way.”
For a player who has already done so much, the language is telling. She is not here to wind down. She is here to compete.
Life after England, not after football
Earps has stepped away from the international stage, announcing her England retirement in 2025. That decision often signals the beginning of the end for an elite career. She insists this is different.
She has signed a two-year deal with London City and talks about development, not decline.
“I want to continue to play at the highest level, to win at the highest level for as long as possible and to be a part of something special,” she said. “I really do believe that London City will go on to do great things for a long time. They want to be the best in class and world-leading.
“That is something that I’m always pushing to be – to be the best version of myself as a player and a person every day. It’s a great place to be for me to max out on whatever potential I have left. The moment that I don’t think I can learn any more, I won’t continue to play.
“I still feel like I’ve got a lot to give and hopefully there’s some fantastic days around the corner. I’m really looking forward to this chapter.”
The next chapter starts against the club that helped write the last one. Under the lights, in front of fans who once sang her name, Mary Earps returns to the WSL not as a nostalgia act, but as a goalkeeper still convinced her biggest saves might yet be ahead of her.
