Mary Earps: From Manchester United Icon to London City Lionesses Star

Mary Earps has never tiptoed into a stage in her life. She walks straight into the spotlight. On Friday night, that spotlight swings back to the Women’s Super League – and straight onto Old Trafford’s former guardian, now wearing London City Lionesses colours, staring down her old club Manchester United.

For Earps, the fixture feels scripted.

“It was meant to be,” she admitted to BBC Sport, as the prospect of a debut against United loomed over the season opener.

From United icon to returning rival

Earps did not just pass through Manchester United. She helped define an era.

Across five seasons, she became England’s number one, made more than 100 appearances for the club and, crucially, helped deliver United’s first major trophy with the FA Cup win in 2024. While doing that, she also anchored England’s Euro 2022 triumph and their run to the 2023 World Cup final. Her performances dragged goalkeeping into the centre of the conversation, not the margins.

The awards followed. Twice Fifa’s goalkeeper of the year. BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023. A mural outside Old Trafford. A face and a voice that travelled well beyond the usual football bubble.

United changed while she was there. It has changed again since she left. The connection, though, never really loosened.

“I got a nice reception at Old Trafford in the Women’s Champions League last season and it meant a great deal to me at that time,” she said. “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 remains. So does the affection. On Friday, both will be tested from the away dressing room.

Paris, pressure and perspective

When Earps walked away from United, she did so to chase the game’s sharpest edges: Champions League football and more silverware. Paris St‑Germain offered both, and a different kind of life.

Two seasons, 22 league appearances and a shift in pace later, she returns with something else – perspective.

“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 reflected. “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 “craziness” had escalated again last November, when her book sparked controversy and dominated headlines for weeks. Even as debate raged, the response at Old Trafford when she returned with PSG was telling: warm applause, not cold distance.

The noise, good and bad, has never been far away. Paris offered a step back from it. Now she has chosen to step right back in.

Drawn home by the WSL’s electricity

Contract up, decision made. Earps wanted home. Not just the country, but the feeling.

“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.”

That line could double as a mission statement for her return. She has chosen a club that intends to disrupt the established order rather than sit comfortably inside it.

Big names, bigger expectations

Earps arrives as part of a marquee summer. London City have added two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas and Spain defender Mapi Leon, assembling a core with the kind of pedigree usually associated with Champions League regulars, not ambitious climbers.

Star status, though, does not guarantee a starting spot. Earps knows that.

She has started the last two pre-season matches but walks into a genuine contest for the number-one shirt with Elene Lete, who impressed last season.

“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 with her résumé, that sounds modest. It isn’t. It is competitive. The battle for the gloves will say a lot about London City’s standards – and about how far Earps can still push herself.

Life after England – but not after ambition

Internationally, Earps has drawn a line. She announced her retirement from England duty in 2025, closing a chapter that saw her become one of the most recognisable and influential figures in the women’s game.

Her club career, though, is nowhere near finished.

She has signed a two-year deal with London City and talks like someone who sees room for growth, not a gentle wind-down.

“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.”

On Friday night, that new chapter opens against the club where she became a star, in a league she once helped drag into the mainstream. The mural at Old Trafford will still be there. The reception will likely be loud.

The question now is simple: how much more can Mary Earps still bend the WSL to her will?