Mary Earps Joins London City Lionesses for New Challenge
Mary Earps is back in English football – and she has not come quietly.
The former England No. 1 has signed a two-year deal with London City Lionesses after leaving Paris St‑Germain, a move that underlines both her own unfinished business and the club’s growing sense of ambition.
At 33, Earps could easily have taken a softer landing after an intense spell at the top of the European game. Instead, she has chosen a project that wants to accelerate, not settle.
“I feel the club aligns with what I stand for. I can't wait to get started and to get down to business,” she said, spelling out the fit as clearly as one of her penalty-area commands.
A statement signing for a restless club.
From Paris to a new project
Earps departs PSG after two seasons in France, where she made 22 league appearances this campaign and kept 12 clean sheets. PSG finished third in the Première Ligue, 13 points adrift of champions Lyon, but their goalkeeper’s numbers told their own story: she remained one of Europe’s most reliable last lines of defence.
Now she walks into a very different environment.
London City Lionesses, still relative newcomers to the Women’s Super League, are not behaving like a club content with survival. Backed by American businesswoman Michele Kang, they finished sixth in their debut WSL campaign in 2025‑26 – a mid-table finish that felt more like a launchpad than a plateau.
Earps has seen and heard enough to believe this is not a vanity project.
“The club's values represent what I want to represent and they are passionate about what I want to achieve,” she said. “All the conversations have been really positive and every time I spoke with the club I wanted to hear more.
“The vision and ambition, including the new training facility, is incredible and I'm looking forward to seeing that develop. It shows what our owner Michele [Kang] and everyone at the club want to do in terms of really going for it.
“It's about putting a marker down and saying we want to be competitive in a short space of time.”
The message is clear: this is not a gentle wind-down. This is a challenge.
A career that changed the landscape
Earps arrives in London as one of the defining figures of England’s modern women’s game.
Twice named Fifa Best Goalkeeper of the Year, she played a central role in England’s Euro 2022 triumph and their run to the 2023 World Cup final. Her performances, presence and personality helped drag goalkeeping into the spotlight, turning her into one of the country’s most recognisable and influential players.
Her club career has followed the same upward curve. At Manchester United she spent five years, passed 100 appearances and helped deliver the club’s first major trophy in 2024 when they lifted the Women’s FA Cup. For a club trying to write its own history, Earps became a pillar – so much so that a mural of her now stands outside Old Trafford.
The relationship has not always been simple. Her book, released in November, sparked controversy and dominated headlines for weeks. Yet when she returned to Old Trafford with PSG in the Women’s Champions League earlier this season, home fans responded with a warm applause at full-time. The mural remains. So does the respect.
Her international career, loaded with individual awards, came to an official close when she announced her retirement from England duty in 2025. But retirement from the national team has not dulled her competitive edge.
“I feel I still have so much left to give to the game and that's exactly why I chose London City,” she said.
London City raise the stakes
Earps is not the only headline name on London City’s radar. The club are moving aggressively in the market, using this summer’s window to signal intent.
They are set to sign Spain defender Mapi León, one of the outstanding centre-backs in the world game, and remain in talks with two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas following her departure from Barcelona. If those deals are completed, a side that only just arrived in the WSL will suddenly house some of the most decorated players on the planet.
For a squad that finished sixth in its first top-flight season, the message to the rest of the league is stark: mid-table was a starting point, not a comfort zone.
“It won't be easy – the WSL is extremely competitive,” Earps warned. “The team had a brilliant 2025‑26 season finishing mid-table in their first season, now it's about climbing the table and working towards finishing as high as possible.”
She knows this league. She knows the scrutiny that will follow a team trying to fast-track its way into the elite. And she knows what it takes to turn ambition into silverware.
London City now have a goalkeeper whose career has been defined by rising to big occasions. The club want to move quickly. Earps has made a career out of reacting even quicker.
The question now is not whether this move is bold. It’s how far this alliance of a restless club and a proven winner can push the established order of the WSL.
