How Earps went from £25 a game to 'Mary, Queen of Stops'

"She changed goalkeeping. She changed nan game. But she hasn't changed."

It takes conscionable 11 words for erstwhile England team-mate Ellen White to neatly sum up nan effect of Mary Earps successful a caller BBC Sport documentary.

Essentially, she is saying, there's thing astir Mary Earps.

And it's thing that'll beryllium felt agelong aft nan daze world status - announced this week - and nan consequent antagonistic headlines.

From nan peripatetic days bouncing astir a fistful of clubs and juggling six part-time jobs successful nan amateur women's shot era to juggling endorsements galore arsenic a one-person world brand.

From lying successful an inconsolable heap connected nan room level hardly capable to speak aft being dropped by past England leader Phil Neville successful 2020 to uncovering her sound to return connected sportswear elephantine Nike.

And lastly, possibly astir long-lastingly, helping to flip nan cognition of women's goalkeeping connected its head.

Her beingness connected nan transportation and her prescience disconnected it - a willingness to clasp TikTok is wide credited pinch her immense fame - has helped make Earps an unstoppable force.

This week's status is not a afloat extremity of course.

Part of nan 32-year-old's stated logic for stepping backmost from world shot is to ore connected her nine profession - she's presently astatine Paris St-Germain.

But nan extremity of an world era inevitably leads to questions astir legacy.

"The bequest I want to time off is leaving nan crippled successful a amended place," she says.

"That's what it's ever been. To effort to time off women's goalkeeping successful a amended spot than it was.

"I deliberation successful much caller times what's been added to that is to make goalkeeping cool.

"I conscionable deliberation practice matters – you can't beryllium what you can't spot and hopefully I tin correspond to group a goalkeeper, but besides personification who's been done a batch and who is still standing, still swinging. Hopefully I tin promote others to do nan same."

Anyone looking for a root of encouragement from Earps' profession has plentifulness to spell at.

But changing nan crippled seemed a cardinal miles distant erstwhile nan Nottingham-born keeper started out.

In a bid of in-depth interviews for documentary Mary Earps: Queen of Stops, Earps and her family unfastened up astir that travel to nan apical of her athletics – and immoderate of nan large decisions en route.

Becoming a goalkeeper was a no-brainer.

"From my very first crippled I knew I wanted to beryllium a goalkeeper," she says of an opening lucifer betwixt her broadside West Bridgford Colts and Hucknall Town. "There was a punishment fixed against america and I saved it. My dada said, successful emblematic dada fashion, 'see, if 1 of nan different girls was successful extremity they wouldn't person saved that' and for me, that was it."

"I ever knew she'd beryllium good," her relative Joel says. "Something my dada tried to get her to do was to effort to create into a goalkeeper pinch attributes that weren't really a portion of nan women's crippled then. A goalkeeper that was bully pinch her feet. A goalkeeper that would travel retired and cod nan shot well."

But contempt her father's precocious standards, Earps was taking her first footballing steps successful a radically different era.

A 17-year-old Earps made her elder debut for Doncaster Belles successful nan inaugural play of nan Women's Super League successful 2011. At that clip her lucifer interest was £25.

By nan clip nan WSL turned master successful 2018, Earps already had 8 teams connected her footballing resume.

"I deliberation my Wikipedia page astir apt looks a spot colourful erstwhile you look astatine each nan teams I've played for but that was benignant of nan reality backmost then," Earps says.

The amateur position astatine that clip meant that players were juggling recreation - "three, 4 aliases 5 hours to a WSL club", remembers Earps – and a time job, astir football. Earps burned nan midnight lipid much than astir – astatine 1 clip she had six part-time jobs, including moving astatine a artifact shop and a cinema.

As a result, her profession was astatine a crossroads erstwhile she graduated pinch a grade successful accusation guidance and business studies from Loughborough University successful 2016.

"My fears were [the women's game] wasn't sustainable," she says. "The infrastructure for women's shot was not going to let it to spell anywhere.

"Going to assemblage was decidedly ever nan scheme and erstwhile I graduated I thought 'well, I tin either spell for thing that I really want, or, I tin effort and make a living'. It felt for illustration it was worthy taking a spot of a changeable and a spot of a bet connected my shot profession and myself."

Earps will nary uncertainty return immoderate clip now to look backmost and bespeak connected really that bet has paid off.

But portion of Earps' awesome accomplishment has been her expertise to make and advocator for alteration successful existent time. On aggregate occasions during her profession she has spoken up for nan request for circumstantial goalkeeping coaches, thing she didn't person entree to erstwhile starting out.

Earps' world profession was very astir complete earlier it had started.

There's a segment successful nan BBC Sport documentary Lionesses: Champions of Europe successful which Earps describes nan effect England coach Sarina Wiegman has had connected her life.

Earps clicks her fingers to nan lens arsenic she describes a Sarina Sliding Doors-style shift, saying: "Sarina came successful and life changed, virtually for illustration that. Drop of a dime."

Aged 28, she had been successful a two-year world exile anterior to Wiegman's presence successful September 2021. She had played her past crippled nether Neville 2 years earlier against Germany astatine Wembley.

When she recovered retired via Instagram successful March 2020 that she'd been dropped by Neville she deed stone bottom. "It felt for illustration my world was ending," she remembers. "I opened my telephone getting fresh to scroll complete luncheon and yeah, I wasn't successful nan squad. I'd not had an email, not had a call, not a text, nary notification from anyone.

"That was nan infinitesimal wherever I was successful pieces connected nan room floor."

In piecing together immoderate communicative connected nan effect aliases bequest of Earps connected women's football, 1 point is almost unequivocal.

Without Wiegman's appointment, her travel to winning nan Euros and doubly being voted nan world's champion goalkeeper wouldn't person happened.

Earps' recollections of her and Wiegman's first speech illuminate 1 of nan different ways she's changed nan crippled – done her vulnerability.

The spot of their enslaved and instant relationship besides offers penetration into Wiegman's reported frustration, external astatine Earps' status this week.

"The first speech (with Sarina) was really emotional," Earps says. "It was tears and astonishment and vulnerability and I don't deliberation I had ever really shared that vulnerability pinch a head before.

"It was unusual for maine that that happened wrong a fewer minutes of talking.

"She was very clear from nan start: 'This is your opportunity, it's up to you what you do pinch it'."

"She conscionable needed personification to judge successful her," erstwhile Manchester United and England team-mate Alessia Russo says.

On nan transportation Earps drew connected nan symptom of her England exile and began nan travel towards nan record-breaking goalkeeper she would become.

"It happened astatine nan aforesaid clip arsenic maine figuring retired who I was arsenic a personification and being like, no, this is who I am. I don't want to beryllium personification else," she says.

"And it's nan aforesaid arsenic a goalkeeper.

"This is what I deliberation I'm bully at. Communication. I'm an organiser. Trying to power nan crippled successful definite ways.

"I'm not going to effort and do thing I'm not bully astatine for illustration guidelines connected nan halfway statement for illustration Manuel Neuer would do, because that's not who I am. I'm going to effort and do it nan Mary Earps way."

Off nan field, nan darker times besides helped germinate nan Mary Earps way, sparking a gyration successful her cognition to intelligence health, which has had arsenic overmuch of an effect connected nan women's crippled and its fanbase arsenic her prowess successful goal.

"It's go a monolithic portion of who I americium now, to beryllium much susceptible and to beryllium much present," she says.

The zenith of that new-found vulnerability came astatine arguably nan pinnacle of her career.

In February 2023, nan Manchester United keeper was voted nan world's champion goalkeeper astatine Fifa's awards aft inspiring England to their first awesome women's title astatine Euro 2022.

Her acceptance reside garnered arsenic galore headlines arsenic her form.

She said nan grant was for "anyone who's ever been successful a acheronian place" and added: "Sometimes occurrence looks for illustration this – collecting trophies – sometimes it's conscionable waking up and putting 1 measurement successful beforehand of nan other."

A twelvemonth later she won nan grant again, arsenic good arsenic being named nan BBC's Sport Personality of nan Year, aft redeeming a punishment arsenic nan Lionesses narrowly mislaid nan World Cup last to Spain.

"Even erstwhile she won Fifa Best Goalkeeper for a 2nd time, she was still nan aforesaid Mary successful training nan adjacent day. The Mary who wanted to beryllium amended than nan time before."

Former Manchester United and England team-mate Ella Toone reveals a important logic down Earps' unthinkable profession - nan steeliness that exists alongside nan vulnerability.

Full-back Lucy Bronze recounts an instructive speech agelong earlier Earps was established arsenic England's first choice.

"I retrieve her saying, 'I cognize I person sewage what it takes to beryllium No. 1'," Bronze says. "She had that belief."

Sportswear marque Nike felt nan afloat unit of said steeliness successful nan run-up to nan 2023 World Cup erstwhile they initially made nan determination not to put Earps' replica goalkeeper jersey connected sale.

Earps said combatively astir nan determination connected nan eve of nan tourney – putting herself successful nan centre of a media large wind and besides adding an further load successful a high-profile tourney for which some she and nan Lionesses were already successful nan spotlight fixed they were among nan favourites.

Her comments led to a petition, garnering much than 150,000 signatures and a crisp U-turn by Nike.

"You ever spot young group want to beryllium strikers and people nan goals but Mary sets nan reside for being a goalkeeper and really important that tin beryllium too," Russo says.

"To commencement that run was really powerful but besides really brave and inspiring to do while you're astir to play 1 of nan biggest tournaments of your lives."

Once much pinch Earps, overmuch for illustration her status this week, it reflects her uncompromising nature.

Earps says she felt compelled to speak because nan Nike standpoint was "telling a full demographic of group that they're not important, that nan position they play isn't important".

She added: "I did consciousness nan unit but, sloppy of really I performed, it was fundamentally a elemental civilized mobility of… if you get asked that mobility and you don't reply it honestly, and you person a awesome tourney aliases you person a bad tournament, erstwhile you look astatine yourself successful nan mirror, aft your profession is done, what are you going to think?"

"What if I'd person said it aft nan tournament? It wouldn't person been arsenic powerful."

Powerful, unapologetic pre-tournament statements - sound familiar?

Perhaps Earps' iconic world profession was destined to extremity this way.