‘People think I’ve vanished’: Mary Earps on signing for London City and feeling forgotten

W hen Mary Earps signed for Wolfsburg eight years ago, shortly after they had played in the Women’s Champions League final, there was no club photographer available for her unveiling, meaning her agent popped out to buy a scarf from the club shop before taking a makeshift announcement image. So when the former England goalkeeper’s latest club, London City Lionesses , announced her Women’s Super League return with a glamorous photoshoot on a boat on the Thames in front of landmarks such as Tower Bridge, she was struck not only by how much the women’s game and her life have been transformed, but by the bold scale of her new team’s ambitions. “The energy and effort put into the shoot, I would never have imagined this even five years ago,” says Earps, whose move to London City from Paris Saint-Germain was confirmed on Friday. “All I keep saying is: ‘I’m so excited,’ but that shoot just poured petrol on the excitement fire. Wow, if that’s what they do just to say: ‘Hey, by the way Mary’s arrived,’ then imagine hopefully what we can do [in the future].” The 33-year-old has signed a two-year contract with the side that recently finished sixth in their debut WSL season, having chosen to return to the league where she has spent most of her career, including five years at Manchester United. “I had an amazing time in Paris for two years, in a really special city, but last year I was sort of swaying more and more coming home,” the 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year says. …