Former Blues player Ellen White, White, White announced her retirement from football on Monday to the devastation of women's football fans in England and across the world. It was always going to come at some point, but we weren't ready. It does explain Ellen's reaction to winning the Euros though. There were tears of happiness, but it was noticeable that there was a tinge of sadness in some photos and it must have hit home that the final of the Euros was her last game.
Ellen started her football journey at just 8 years old when she joined Arsenal. Her talent was clear as she made her way through the youth ranks, but her senior debut came for Chelsea when she was just 16 years old. Despite her youth, she was Chelsea's top scorer for all of the three seasons she spent there! In 2008, Ellen moved to Leeds Utd (Leeds Carnegie at the time) and spent two years there before moving back to her first club Arsenal in the summer of 2010. On her return to Arsenal, Ellen won every domestic cup going: two WSL titles, two FA Cups and three League Cups. Ellen found a new challenge in 2013 when she joined Notts County where she scored that free-kick, orchestrated by Blues legend Laura Bassett.
Despite Notts offering her a new contract in 2017, White knew she needed to sign for the best and made her most important move- to Birmingham. Ellen quickly became a fan favourite due to her performances on the pitch and her personality off it. Ellen always had time for the Blues fans and many have shared their fond memories of her time at the club. In her first season at the Blues, Ellen scored the winning penalty against former club Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final to send the Blues to Wembley. Ellen scored 15 goals in 14 appearances for the Blues in the 2017/18 season earning her Top Scorer in the WSL that season. In Jan 2019, Ellen scored an excellent last minute winner at Chelsea. If you think this is a bit random to mention, watch the video in the link below to see how special it was! A goal us Blues fans still fondly remember.
After spending what was surely the best two years of her life at the Blues, Ellen moved to Manchester City in 2019 and this would be where she would end her career. Her time at Man City unfortunately started with injury, one of many Ellen overcame throughout her career. Her first goal for Man City came against Birmingham in the League Cup. (Cheers, Ellen!) Whilst at Man City, Ellen became the second player in WSL history to score 50 goals and also won the FA cup and League Cup.
It wasn't only a fantastic domestic career that Ellen had, but a glittering international one too. With 113 caps and 52 goals Ellen became a firm fan favourite and those 52 goals leave her the all-time top goal scorer for the Lionesses and just one behind all-time England top scorer (men and women) Wayne Rooney. Throughout her England career, which started in 2010, Ellen was part of many of the Lionesses' achievements including winning the Cyprus Cup in 2013, World Cup Bronze in 2015, She Believes Cup in 2019, the illustrious Arnold Clark Cup (2022) and of course helping to bring football home in this year's Euros. Ellen was also part of Team GB in the 2012 London Olympics and last year's event in Tokyo. Team GB reached the quarter final on both occasions.
Ellen bowed out by saying "You don't have to be the best at something to make your dreams come true". Humble as ever, but we hope she does know just how great she was.
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