Manchester City and England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley has announced she will retire from professional football at the end of the season, hanging up her gloves on an illustrious 20-year career.
Bardsley joined City in late 2013 as part of the club’s reformation of its women’s team. Born to English parents in California, she had started her career in the United States, before spending time in Sweden and first moving to English football in 2013 when she joined Lincoln.
Now 37, she made her England debut as early as 2005 while still playing at collegiate level at California State University and has 82 senior caps to her name.
Bardsley has helped City win numerous domestic trophies over the last nine years, including the WSL title in 2016, and made her 100th appearance for the club in November 2020.
More recently, injuries and the emergence of Ellie Roebuck at club and international level have limited her playing time.
Bardsley has been to six major tournaments with England, beginning at Euro 2009 and including successful World Cup campaigns in 2015 and 2019. She was also an ever-present for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics and was named in the 2020 squad but had to withdraw due to injury.
“It was obviously a pretty tough decision for me to make, but after a lot of deliberation and unfortunately being away from the pitch for quite a while now due to injury, it just felt like the right moment,” she said of her decision to step away from the professional game.
“As sad and strange as it to be stepping away from something I’ve committed my entire young adult life to, ultimately it is something I feel really proud of and can honestly say, hand on heart, that I’ve left no stone unturned and I have no regrets about how I’ve applied myself and what I’ve achieved.
“I feel incredibly proud of my career, but ultimately I’m really excited about the next steps and what is to come in the future, and I’m just very much looking forward to giving back to the football community in many other ways.”
City coach Gareth Taylor said Bardsley has left an ‘undeniable mark’ on women’s football.
For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!