Mary Earps joins London City Lionesses on free transfer

Mary Earps is heading to London City Lionesses on a two-year deal that will make one of England’s most recognisable players the face of a club trying to accelerate its rise. The 33-year-old goalkeeper will officially join on 1 July 2026, once her Paris St-Germain contract expires, in a free transfer that speaks as much to London City’s ambition as it does to Earps’ standing.

Earps arrives with a résumé that still carries rare weight in women’s football. She made 22 appearances in France’s Première Ligue last season and kept 12 clean sheets, then leaves PSG after two seasons in Paris to return to the Women’s Super League. Before that, she spent five seasons at Manchester United, where she made 102 appearances, kept 45 clean sheets and won the FA Cup, while also collecting the FIFA Best Goalkeeper award twice.

Her reputation was built on the biggest stages. Earps played every minute of Euro 2022 and every minute of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, where she produced the decisive penalty save against Jenni Hermoso in the final and finished with the Golden Glove. That combination of consistency, shot-stopping and profile makes her a rare signing for a newly ambitious club: not just an experienced goalkeeper, but a player whose name carries commercial and competitive value across the league.

For London City Lionesses, the move fits a broader shift in the economics of the women’s game. Owned by Michelle Kang and based in Bromley, the club was founded in 2019 as an independent breakaway from Millwall Lionesses and has moved quickly from upstart to contender. It won the 2024-25 Championship title and promotion by drawing 2-2 with Birmingham City on the final day, then finished sixth in its debut WSL season in 2025-26 under Eder Maestre. Earps’ arrival suggests that London City are not simply planning to survive in the top flight, but to spend and recruit like a club that expects to stay there.