'I thought we were friends!' - Juventus star Alisha Lehmann fires back at accusation she 'spends too much time on social media' from ex-Switzerland team-mate

Lehmann has become one of the most recognisable names in women's football. The Swiss star has played for West Ham and Aston Villa in England and is now in Italy with Juventus, having followed boyfriend Douglas Luiz to the Serie A side. Lehmann also boasts a massive following on social media and currently has over 16.5 million followers on Instagram alone.

Lehmann is very active on social media where he shows off her exploits with Juventus and the Swiss national team, as well as offering fans glimpses into her private life,commercial deals she enjoys away from football, work with the Baller League and trips away with Luiz and friends. Lehmann has now revealed her online activities have drawn criticism from one of her old team-mates, and admits she has found the comments particularly hurtful.

Lehmann told the Juventus Creator Lab podcast 'Small Talk': "Normally, I don't really care [about online criticism]. But actually two weeks ago, she works in Switzerland for the Euros and stuff, and she is also an ex-player. She did this podcast with a newspaper in Switzerland. And then she said things that actually hurt me a bit because I played with her in the national team and she went to the newspaper and said things like this. And I thought we were friends, I wouldn't say something like that. And I would never say something about another woman. And the thing is, if people have an opinion about my football when I don't play a lot or whatever, I don't care. It's your opinion, it's the game. Football can change so fast, but if it's about my personal life, then it hurts me a bit. But only from people that I care about.

"I sent her a voice note and said I didn't think it was OK because you don't understand how my life works. She said that I spend too much time on social, with brands and stuff, and that's why my football is worse so I'm not playing or whatever. And these things hurt me because if people actually see how much I work, like the players here at Juventus, we train every day, so hard and I'm so professional. I'm never late. I do everything to be the best every day. And when people I know and who have knowledge of football say something like this, it's just a little bit sad, you know? It made me a bit upset but now it's fine."

Lehmann and Juventus have enjoyed a successful season and have already wrapped up the title in Italy. The Turin side can also pick up more silverware before the end of the campaign as they will contest the Italian Women's Cup final against Roma next month.