Her character assassinations of Sarina Wiegman and Hannah Hampton overshadow the Lionesses legend’s own inspiring story
Mary Earps would probably rather be remembered as Queen of Stops than Queen of Strops. She wanted a “retirement, not a public hanging” when she controversially quit the Lionesses just five weeks before Euro 2025, having learned she was no longer first choice goalkeeper. But her new book will decide her fate – and reopens so many old wounds, nobody is safe from the salt.
All In tells Earps’s story all the way from aspiring young footballer to England superstar, with a fair dose of LinkedIn-speak about the determination and single-mindedness that got her there. Yet the overwhelming sense is one of anger. At Sarina Wiegman, who she accuses of “bullshit” in their final conversation. At Hannah Hampton, the goalkeeper who replaced her as No 1, and who she says has a bad “attitude”. At the “hateful” journalists who cover England.
It is rare to hear anyone speak about England’s national heroes this negatively and it gives an insight into the very real politics at the heart of Lionesses camps. The crux of the Euro 2022 champion’s claims is that Hampton “derailed training sessions with her behaviour” and turned international camps into a “circus”. Wiegman, Earps feels, ultimately rewarded her by changing the team’s tactics to suit Hampton, rather than her.
And here’s the thing – all of it may be true.
It was well reported in 2022 that Hampton was dropped due to concerns about her attitude; since then she has made the saves that won England their second European Championship. So the Lionesses have moved on. Earps, on the other hand, evidently needed to give her side of the story before she could do the same.
The danger is that this Lionesses legend who made goalkeeping cool, battling misogyny and prejudice along the way, could now dampen her own legacy in the eyes of fans. Supporters love Hampton; they adore Wiegman. The character assassinations may not be well received, especially as so much of the book relies on half-revelations.
What exactly Hampton did to make their relationship so “dire” is never explained, only that “there wasn’t a camp that passed without incident”. But by walking out so close to a major tournament, many felt Earps, now 32, left England in the lurch, without an experienced back-up keeper, because she didn’t want to play second fiddle. She had the right to stop whenever she wanted, but it did not come across as particularly sporting, nor does her anger towards Hampton, a much younger teammate.
Along the way, Earps also lost “trust and respect” in Wiegman, whom she felt had not been honest about her decision to change the pecking order. Unfortunately, errors like Earps’s howler against the Netherlands in the Nations League – which ultimately helped make up Wiegman’s mind – don’t get a mention. This might have been the moment to reflect on them, and it has been wasted.
When I spoke to Earps in the summer, she said she was proud of her career, but “can’t control how others see it”. That is true. Those who think she threw her toys out of the pram aren’t going to be convinced otherwise, no matter how much she badmouths her rivals.
She was evidently hurt by media portrayals of her “ego”. It is the flip side of the fame and wealth elite women’s footballers now enjoy – the commercial deals and big salaries don’t happen without reporters writing about them. Players are going to be subject to scrutiny.
Earps herself did more than anyone else to change perceptions around goalkeeping and inspired many young girls to play in her position. She recalls Millie Bright’s niece asking why she couldn’t buy an England Women’s goalkeeper shirt – Earps subsequently went to war with Nike and forced them to change.
Despite the non-stop feuding, it is hard not to sympathise with her – not because of the revelation she had to eat own-brand cereal as a child, but because she is so candid about her feelings of rejection and disappointment. She nearly quit football when then-England boss Phil Neville kept overlooking her. And whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation with Hampton, the image of anyone “crying in my room, where I didn’t recognise myself” jars with the idea that playing for your country is joyful and glamorous.
Manchester United do not come out in any glory either. It is shocking to hear of a footballer at one of the world’s biggest clubs having to max out credit cards and take home seconds from the canteen so she could afford to eat. The Glazer ownership once disbanded the women’s team, underfunded it when it was brought back – and co-owners Ineos have made it clear they are still not a priority. It is the reason Earps ultimately left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2024.
In her darkest days, she drank vodka to “numb” her feelings and did not eat properly. Her discussion of her relationship with food and alcohol is important in a sport preoccupied with women’s bodies and image, and she has set a brave example by addressing a subject many sportswomen would rather avoid.
So there is a worthy story at the heart of it all about one of the most influential figures in the women’s game and how she navigated being catapulted into the spotlight. It’s just a shame that, much like Earps’s England career, it risks being overshadowed by how it ends.
When she was seen screaming “f**k off” into the ether after saving Spain’s penalty in the 2023 World Cup final, it became one of the defining images of her in an England shirt. This account is another final “f**k off” – to some of her most revered former colleagues.
‘Mary Earps: All In: Football, Life and Learning to be Unapologetically Me’ is published by Leap, £18.99
