Yahoo Sports Official: Mary Earps leaves Man United women to join Paris Saint Germain
New part-owners of Manchester United, Ineos, have got off to a disastrous start where the women’s team is concerned, epitomised by the official announcement today that Mary Earps has left the club on a free transfer.
As with Alessia Russo a year earlier, United refused lucrative offers for one of the world’s best footballers, only to fail to persuade her to stay and gain nothing from her departure.
It has been known for some time that Earps, winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and widely considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, was unsettled at United, but hope sprang eternal of a last-minute change of heart.
However, this was not to be. Whilst United reportedly made her a higher offer than PSG to stay, she ultimately chose the French champions and is still set to become the world’s best paid keeper in the process.
This can only speak to Earps’ perception of a lack of ambition from Ineos, lack of promised investment and perhaps ill-advised stunts such as evicting the women from their changing facilities and putting them in a portakabin while the Carrington training facility is being upgraded, handing their vacated home to the men.
Meanwhile, the talented and spirited side that qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 2022/23 and won the FA Cup for the first time in 2023/24 has been dismantled.
Following the departures of Russo, Ona Batlle, Kirsty Hanson, Vilde Boe Risa and Maria Thorisdottir last summer, among others, captain Katie Zelem and talented forward Lucia Garcia have joined Earps in leaving now, ripping the heart out of the superb squad that first Casey Stoney and later, Marc Skinner had constructed and nurtured.
Regarding Earps, United paid tribute today on their website, remarking that “her notable individual honours include winning The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper for 2022 and 2023, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Golden Glove, 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the 2023 BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year.
“Everyone at the Manchester United would like to thank Mary for her fine service and wish her the best of luck in the next stage of her career.”
Of all the bad news, Earps’ depature is probably that which cuts the deepest among United fans, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s apparent disregard disconcerting, to say the least.
Asked recently what his plans were for the women’s team, Sir Jim replied: “Well they’ve just won the FA Cup.”
When pressed further on the future for them, he said: “We haven’t gone into that level of detail with the women’s football team yet. We’ve been pretty much focused on how do we resolve the first-team issues, in that environment, and that’s been pretty full time for the first six months.”
His referring to the men as “the first team” was seen by many as disappointing.
He was then asked if plans for the women were to be confirmed and he responded “correct”.
The sad truth is that by the time he decides to focus on the women, there may not be much of a team left for Sir Jim to work with. Earps, in particular, is not just a great player, she is an inspirational character who is a fantastic role model to younger players and an amazing motivator for her teammates. She will be sorely missed.
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