Lionesses star Mary Earps reveals how leaving 'craziness of England' is helping drive push for record-breaking third The Best FIFA Goalkeeper award

The European Championship winner has already made history by being named the best shot-stopper on the planet in the women’s game across back-to-back campaigns – with those prizes being collected by the Lionesses’ No.1 in 2022 and 2023.

Earps is forever challenging herself and stepped out of a professional comfort zone when leaving WSL side Manchester United for French giants Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024. The 31-year-old believes that she can take her game to even greater heights after escaping the brightest of spotlights in her homeland.

Earps has told BBC Sport: "They always says ‘champions are made when nobody’s watching’. That was something that always stood out to me when I was young. I’ve kind of gone away I guess, from the craziness of England. I kind of get to go away and work hard in silence and just get on with my job quietly."

With the defence of England’s Euros crown to come this summer, Earps sees no reason why she cannot compete for another prestigious FIFA gong in 2025. She added on the desire to make more history: "I’ve been named best goalkeeper in the world for two years, which no goalkeeper had done in that time. But I’m thinking, ‘I want to do it a third time’. I’m always competing with yesterday’s version of me and that’s what’s really important to me, how can I be better than I was yesterday?"

Earps had plenty to prove when moving to Paris, while briefly losing her starting berth with the Lionesses, but has never been the type to shy away from a challenge and is now playing with the freedom that unwavering self belief and confidence brings.