Mary Earps announces shock England retirement ahead of Euros
Mary Earps has announced her decision to retire from England duty, just months before the Lionesses defend their European Championship title this summer.
The goalkeeper won 53 caps and was part of the England squad that won the Euros in 2022.
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Earps was also England's No1 when they reached the World Cup final in 2023, winning the Golden Glove at the tournament and then BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
But the 32-year-old's place in the side has come under threat recently from Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.
Earps saved a penalty in the 2023 World Cup final as England lost to Spain (AP)
Hampton has started the last three England games, including their 1-0 win over world champions Spain in February.
Explaining her retirement, Earps has said she has taken the 'difficult decision' to 'step aside and give the younger generation an opportunity to thrive'.
Earps said: 'I have taken the difficult decision to retire internationally. It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life, to wear this badge, represent my country and play alongside such an incredible group of players.
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'I've spent a long time making this decision and it's not one I've made lightly. For me, ultimately this is the right time for me to step aside and give the younger generation an opportunity to thrive.
'Winning the Euros in 2022 was the best day of my life, and I'm rooting for the girls to do it again this summer.'
England are in action this week when they host Portugal on Friday. The Lionesses will then travel to Spain four days later for the final game of their Nations League campaign.
Earps had been named in the squad for those matches and her immediate retirements means Hampton, Khiara Keating and Anna Moorhouse are the three goalkeepers available to head coach Sarina Wiegman.
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Hampton should start both games and is now expected to be England's No1 at the Euros this summer.
Wiegman has been left 'disappointed' by Earps' decision.
Earps is a leader in the dressing room and has been a huge driver in the growth of the women's game - both on and off the pitch.
'I had hoped that Mary would play an important role within the squad this summer, so of course I am disappointed,' said Wiegman.
'Mary has been clear on her reasons why she has made the decision and it is something we need to accept.
'Mary has made a huge contribution to not only the team, but the whole of English football.
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'We will cherish those memories and of course give Mary the tributes she deserves after the summer but for now the focus needs to be on the upcoming Women's Nations League fixtures and the Euros.'
The Football Association have said a full tribute to Earps' international career and her significant contribution to English football will be made at a Lionesses' fixture after the summer.
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Majority owner: Raul Martin Presa (shareholding of 97.8 per cent) President: Raul Martin Presa Since: 2011 Seasons in La Liga: 22 2023-24 La Liga TV revenues: €45.4m 2024-25 La Liga salary cap: €45.4m Squad market value according to Transfermarkt: €67.9m Total Revenue 2023-24: €55.3m Budget 2024-25: Not public 2024-25 final position: 8th Raul Martin Presa was just 34 and unknown in football when he took control of Rayo Vallecano in 2011. He had run advertising and graphic design businesses before paying a nominal fee of one cent per share to the club's previous owners, the Ruiz-Mateos family. La Liga president Javier Tebas helped broker that deal in his previous role as a bankruptcy expert (Rayo's debts then included €39m in unpaid taxes). The Rayo president is hugely unpopular with most fans, especially the Bukaneros ultras, who often chant for his departure. Strife between the club's left-leaning fanbase and conservative ownership has been constant for decades — former owner Jose Maria Ruiz-Mateos had made his fortune during General Francisco Franco's dictatorship but was jailed for corruption when his companies collapsed after democracy returned. There have also been regular issues between the squad and the club hierarchy through Martin Presa's tenure, such as players protesting when club staff were furloughed during the pandemic. Coaches are often given 'presidential' signings who don't fit their plans — previously Radamel Falcao and this season James Rodriguez. The club's accounts for 2023-24 showed a profit of €4m, but also mentioned ongoing legal proceedings with the Spanish tax authorities over €28m in historical taxes allegedly not paid between 1996 and 2002. The crumbling three-sided Estadio de Vallecas is by far the Spanish top-flight stadium in the worst condition. Meanwhile, Rayo are the only one of the 39 clubs who joined La Liga's CVC investment deal but have yet to spend any of the funds due to them. Qualifying for next season's Europa Conference League was a tremendous achievement by the team, but it means the ground will need significant improvements to meet UEFA standards. Martin Presa said in January 2025 that moving to a new ground was 'vital for survival' of the club but no serious plans have yet been put forward to do this. Advertisement Owners: Local families President: Angel Haro (20 per cent shareholding) Since: 2016 La Liga titles: One (1934-35) Seasons in La Liga: 59 2023-24 La Liga TV revenues: €68.2m 2024-25 La Liga salary cap: €109m Squad market value according to Transfermarkt: €173.1m Total Revenue 2023-24: €138.6m Budget 2024-25: €142.9m 2024-25 final position: 6th During two decades under president Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, Betis broke the world transfer record to buy Brazilian Denilson for 500m pesetas (about €40m) in 1998, played in the Champions League in the mid 2000s, and went into bankruptcy proceedings in 2011 due to debts of almost €80m. After Lopera was forced out by the Spanish courts, the current ownership group headed by Angel Haro and Jose Miguel Lopez Catalan took control in September 2015. Club president Haro owns Seville-based energy and engineering company Wingenia. Lopez Catalan is a technology entrepreneur and club vice-president. Both now own around 20 per cent each of the club shares. Other smaller shareholders include local businessmen, fans and former player Joaquin Sanchez (who owns about three per cent). In September, the club received €125m funding via Goldman Sachs, refinancing previous debts and providing liquidity and solvency going forward. At their December 2024 AGM, a motion to change the club statutes to allow foreign investors to buy shares was passed, while reaching the 2025 Conference League final against Chelsea which they lost has further improved the club's global visibility. Owners: 95,612 club members President: Florentino Perez Since: 2000 to 2006, and 2009 to present Seasons in La Liga: 94 (all) La Liga titles: 36 (most recently 2023-24) 2023-24 TV revenue: €159.6m 2024-25 La Liga salary cap: €754.9m Squad value according to Transfermarkt: €1.41bn Revenue 2023-24: €1.07bn Budget 2024-25: €1.1bn 2024-25 final position: 2nd 'Real Madrid has no owner, it belongs only to its socios,' Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said in 2016. A democratic ethos is integral to Madrid's self-image, though few doubt Perez is the socio most responsible for setting the club's policies during his spells as president, from 2000 to 2006, and 2009 to present. Advertisement Perez has been going to the Bernabeu since he was a boy during Madrid's first golden age in the 1950s. An engineer by profession, he worked for Madrid's town hall before entering business by taking over a small, bankrupt construction company in 1983. That company has become ACS Group, a global conglomerate whose activities in civil engineering, construction, technology and public services generated sales of €41.6 billion in 2024. Perez is ACS president, with a personal shareholding of 14.5 per cent, worth more than €1bn. Madrid's revenues have rocketed under Perez's stewardship and he proudly said at last November's club assembly that Madrid were the first football team with annual revenue topping €1bn. He also announced a coming referendum on 'the club's corporate reorganisation', prompting fears of Madrid being 'privatised', though Perez has long argued his first priority is to protect its socio model. Although any club member can run for the presidency, Perez has not faced a challenge since his return in 2009. Candidates must be Spanish citizens with 20 years as a Madrid socio who can personally guarantee 15 per cent of the club's annual budget — i.e. over €150m. Last January, Perez, 78, was re-elected unopposed, again, to the position until 2029. Owner: Andy Kohlberg (majority shareholder among US investors) President: Andy Kohlberg Since: 2016 Seasons in La Liga: 32 2023-24 TV revenues: €46.4m La Liga salary cap: €58.8m Squad value according to Transfermarkt: €82.7m Total Revenue 2023-24: €71.2m Budget 2024-25: €64m 2024-25 final position: 10th Real Mallorca were wracked by financial and institutional turmoil for some years, including bitter public battles between competing shareholders, before new U.S. owners arrived in January 2016. That group was led by current president Andy Kohlberg along with his former Phoenix Suns co-owner Robert Sarver, with other smaller shareholders including ex-NBA star Steve Nash and former USMNT player Stu Holden. Kohlberg is a former tennis pro and was a Wimbledon mixed doubles semi-finalist in 1987, who later made millions in senior care in the U.S.. He became Mallorca's majority shareholder in June 2023, when Sarver's connection with the club ended after a racism scandal, which also forced him to sell his Phoenix Suns shares. Advertisement The first years of Mallorca's U.S. ownership brought ups and downs, including dropping to the third tier for a season, while historic debts of €30m were paid off. The team has stabilised in La Liga for four seasons now and reached the 2024 Copa del Rey final. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr became a minority investor in August 2023, during a share offering that raised €14.7m and brought total investment from owners to over €60m. 'We've always taken a long-term perspective,' Kohlberg told The Athletic in April 2024. 'Our objective is to be a top 10 club, competing for Europe.' Owners: Multiple small shareholdings President: Jokin Aperribay Since: 2008 La Liga titles: Two (most recently 1981-82) Seasons in La Liga: 78 2023-24 TV revenues: €70.7m La Liga salary cap: €159.3m Squad value according to Transfermarkt: €383.8m Total Revenue 2023-24: €161m Budget 2024-25: €149m 2024-25 final position: 11th Real Sociedad are unique as the only La Liga club who are a private company in which no one shareholder can have a stake of more than two per cent. Local businessman Jokin Aperribay was elected president in December 2008, with the club facing bankruptcy due to debts of more than €40m and the team in the second division. Aperribay's father, Joaquin, was vice-president in the early 1980s when La Real won two La Liga titles. The family are controlling shareholders of SAPA, a manufacturer of transmission systems for military vehicles, though Jokin Aperribay rarely talks publicly about his family's business activities, which include a SAPA factory in Michigan. Under his presidency the club have grown while keeping their local ethos, with debts wiped out, a Copa del Rey victory in 2019-20, and regular participation in European competition. The club accounts for 2023-24 showed a profit of €1.2m and revenue of €161m, and were approved by 99.8 per cent of voting shareholders at last December's AGM. Advertisement Owner: Ronaldo President: Ronaldo Since: 2022 Seasons in La Liga: 47 2023-24 La Liga TV revenues: €18.4m (in Segunda) 2024-25 La Liga salary cap: €41.8m Squad market value according to Transfermarkt: €40.4m Revenues 2023-24: not public Budget 2024-25: €58.7m 2024-25 final position: 20th Real Valladolid had always been controlled by wealthy families from the central Spanish city until ex-Brazil star Ronaldo bought a 51 per cent stake from previous club president Carlos Suarez in September 2018. The two-time Ballon d'Or winner, twice World Cup winner and 98-cap former Brazil forward has a wide range of business interests, including in marketing, finance, media and property. In October 2024, the 48-year-old spent €5.6m in a share offering, taking his total investment to more than €35m and total shareholding to 88 per cent. Since 2018, Valladolid have bounced around between the first and second divisions, with three relegations and two promotions. When the team is on the up, Ronaldo is been relatively popular, but when the team struggles, chants of 'Ronaldo go home' often ring around their Jose Zorrilla stadium. There were regular protests and calls for him to sell the club during a disastrous 2024-25 campaign in which they finished bottom. Ronaldo had been open about his investment in Valladolid being a business decision. He bought 90 per cent of Brazilian club Cruzeiro in December 2021, and sold it in April 2024 for an estimated £30m profit. In May 2025, Valladolid announced that Ronaldo had sold the club to a group of North American investors with the backing of a European fund. That deal still requires a green light from the Spanish government. Owners: Local families President: Jose Maria del Nido Carrasco Takeover: 2023 La Liga titles: 1 (1945-46) Seasons in La Liga: 81 2023-24 La Liga TV revenues: €72.5m 2024-25 La Liga salary cap: €2.5m Squad market value according to Transfermarkt: €175m Total Revenue 2023-24: €174.9m Budget 2024-25: €120.9m 2024-25 final position: 17th Advertisement Sevilla are one of the very few La Liga clubs where groups of powerful Spanish families have retained control. The Del Nido family has the largest holding of around 24 per cent, the Sevillistas de Nervion group has 22 per cent, former club president Rafael Carrion has 15 per cent and Sevillistas Unidos 2020 has eight per cent. Unloved Americans 777 Partners — which also invested in Serie A's Genoa, Belgian club Standard Liege and the Bundesliga's Hertha Berlin, and tried unsuccessfully to buy Everton — bought around 13 per cent during an unsuccessful bid for control a few years ago. After 777 hit serious funding and legal problems, control of their shareholding passed to creditors A-Cap, but their Sevilla shareholding has been blocked by a Spanish court for now. Jose Maria del Nido Benavente was Sevilla president from 2002 to 2013, when he was jailed for the misappropriation of public funds. His son, Jose Maria del Nido Carrasco, is now president, allied with current VP Jose Castro, who held the position until December 2023. Del Nido Benavente is currently launching an extremely bitter legal battle to regain control, pitting father against son. Despite the team winning the Europa League in 2020 and 2023, Sevilla's finances have worsened significantly through recent years, and the club's 2023-24 losses were €81.8m. In March 2024 they took a €108m loan, organised by Goldman Sachs. There were angry protests against Del Nido Jr during the 2024-25 season, including fans breaking into the training ground in early May amid relegation fears, and the current president requiring private security at his home and the stadium. Many around Sevilla believe a new investor, whether local or international, will eventually buy out all the feuding parties. But finding such a saviour, and organising a takeover, looks quite difficult given all the financial issues and institutional turmoil. Owner: Peter Lim President: Lay Hoon Chan Since: 2014 La Liga titles: Six (most recent 2003-04) Seasons in La Liga: 90 2023-24 La Liga TV revenues: €59.2m 2024-25 La Liga salary cap: €74.6m Squad market value according to Transfermarkt: €214.9m Revenues 2023-24: Not public Budget 2024-25: €99.1m 2024-25 final position: 12th Advertisement In October 2014, Peter Lim paid €94m for 70 per cent of Valencia's shares, while pledging to invest another €100m. The club's first foreign owner was mostly welcomed by local fans after years of institutional turmoil left debts of more than €300m. Lim rose from humble origins to become a star stockbroker, becoming one of Singapore's richest men in the early 1990s after investing in Malaysian palm oil plantations. He has since diversified into real estate, healthcare, fashion and sports. From 2014 to 2024 he was a part-owner of English lower-division club Salford City with the former Manchester United players known as the 'Class of 92'. There have been moments of success, such as the 2019 Copa del Rey victory, but budget cuts have seen the team's competitive levels drop significantly. Local fans and pundits have been annoyed by links to Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes and the club hiring Lim's friend (and former Salford co-owner) Gary Neville as coach. Last September, La Liga president Javier Tebas praised Lim's financial management of the club, pointing out he had invested lots of his own money (an estimated €190m, including loans), while previous local owners left behind huge debts. Fan groups and some former Valencia directors have tried to get Lim to sell without success. President Lay Hoon Chan said at a stormy club AGM in December 2024 that 'attractive' offers would be 'studied' by Lim but none had been received. Industry sources say it would take €400m at least to make him consider a sale. The team's revival through the second half of the 2024-25 under new coach Carlos Corberan avoided a financially disastrous relegation. Work restarted on the club's new stadium, which stood half-built for 15 years, in January. That project will cost €325m, including €80m from La Liga's CVC deal and money raised from land sales. Completing the new stadium and selling their current (old) Mestalla home would make sense before any sale occurs. Owner: Fernando Roig (98.79 per cent shares) President: Fernando Roig Since: 1997 Seasons in La Liga: 25 2023-24 TV revenues: €63.3m 2024-25 La Liga salary cap: €135.9m Squad value according to Transfermarkt: €218.6m Total Revenue 2023-24: €162.8m Budget 2024-25: €143.4m 2024-25 final position: 5th Advertisement In May 1997, Fernando Roig became the majority shareholder and president of Villarreal. The following season the team from a town of just 50,000 people achieved their first promotion to the Primera Division. Since then, it has often punched above its weight domestically and in Europe. Roig is owner and president of Spanish ceramics giant Pamesa, the club's long-time shirt sponsor. He also owns nine per cent of the huge Mercadona supermarket chain, which is run by his brother Juan. A third brother, Francisco, was Valencia president from 1994 to 1997. Villarreal's El Madrigal stadium was renamed Estadio La Ceramica in January 2017, in a nod to Roig having invested more than €200m in the club over the previous decades. The stadium has been further remodelled recently using money from the league's CVC deal. The business model continues to centre on developing young talent, from Diego Forlan to Santi Cazorla to Nicolas Jackson, and reinvesting profits when sold. Securing Champions League again for 2025-26 is further reward for Roig's steady stewardship of the club. (Top image, from left to right: Perez, Laporta, Lim; Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Jose Miguel Fernandez/NurPhoto, Florencia Tan Jun, Josep Lago/ AFP via Getty Images)
