If you were walking your dog in your local park near Manchester this summer and thought you saw two England internationals doing one-on-one training drills, don’t worry – you weren’t seeing things. That was indeed the former Manchester United captain Katie Zelem and her Lionesses teammate Laura Coombs, trying to keep themselves in shape. Coombs, who was putting in extra yards while returning from injury before pre-season with her Women’s Super League club, Manchester City, had agreed to help Zelem, who was weighing up numerous options after her Manchester United contract had concluded at the end of June. Zelem “Googled some one-on-one sessions” and brought the cones along, and she knows the extra effort was worth it.
“I was running up and down every field I could find, keeping as fit as possible,” the 28-year-old tells the Guardian, reflecting on her time between clubs. “I felt so motivated because I had quite a few offers. I thought: ‘Wherever I end up, this is going to benefit me.’ But running is very different to team training, with the sharpness and connecting passes. It was a unique situation because I basically had no pre-season.
“I had a few options in England, across Europe and in America, so I really took my time deciding. I’d been used to Manchester United for so long, it was home, so whatever club I decided on, it was going to be different. Angel City were so accommodating; they knew I needed time to make a decision to make sure it was right. They gave me the space to really make sure it was what I wanted. That made me grateful.”
Eventually, Zelem decided that the Los Angeles-based side were the right fit, signing a two-year contract and joining them midway through their season in America’s National Women’s Soccer League. Speaking in an exclusive interview, the midfielder’s first since moving to the United States, she says she is embracing the experience of a new league and living halfway across the world. “I woke up last week and thought: ‘Oh my God, I live in LA!’ It doesn’t feel real,” she said. “The huge pulling factor for me was testing myself against a new style of play and a new bunch of players. I’d spent all but one year of my career in the WSL so I was excited for a new challenge.”
Zelem, who was part of the Lionesses squad that reached the 2023 World Cup final but has not played for her country yet in this calendar year, is determined to get back in to the England side. She has already noticed big differences in the physicality of the American league. “The athleticism of the players over here is incredible,” she says. “Every player is quick. And the ‘quick’ players are very, very quick. You get a lot less time on the ball, you’re getting pressed from all angles. And I would say probably the WSL is more tactical and strategic, but over here, a lot of goals are scored on transitions. The huge positive of the NWSL is how competitive it is. Every game, you can’t predict who is going to win.”
On the pitch, despite her lack of a normal pre-season buildup, Zelem has already played six times for Angel City since arriving in mid-August, including four starts, going into Friday night’s trip to face Seattle Reign. Her dad wakes up in the early hours of the morning, UK time, to watch her matches. Off the pitch, she quickly sampled the sights of Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach and the Griffiths Observatory, admitting: “I’m a real tourist, wherever I go!” But it is the contrasting commercial landscape at the NWSL club that has struck her the most. Still only in their third season as a club, Angel City were sold in September for a record-breaking $250m to Willow Bay and Bob Iger, the Disney chief executive, making them the highest-valued women’s sport club in history.
“Angel City is about empowering women. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. The stadium is full, nearly every single game. From a business point of view, it’s so impressive what they’ve been able to achieve,” Zelem said. “When I look and compare teams in the WSL and teams here business-wise, and how Angel City are able to market things and make money, English clubs could learn something from the marketing. Here they’re really able to generate money. I take a corner and it’s sponsored by someone!”
Back in England, where Zelem has spent almost the entirety of her career except for a one-season spell with Juventus, Zelem became known as something of a set-piece specialist, as well as being an intrinsic part of Manchester United. That’s because, having been part of Manchester United’s centre of excellence as a child, she returned as one of their first signings when they reformed a senior women’s team in 2018 and she was a mainstay of the side for the subsequent six years, culminating in her lifting the club’s first major women’s trophy at Wembley in May, as they beat Tottenham to win the FA Cup.
Zelem’s parents have hung up the match shirt and captain’s armband that she wore at the FA Cup final in their house. Zelem says of saying goodbye to Manchester United: “You can kind of sense as a footballer when you feel like it’s time for a change or even a time for a new challenge. I made some of my best memories of my life at Manchester United, not just my football career. To have been the captain of my childhood club and walk out at Wembley and win an FA Cup is something I’ll cherish for ever. I made some friends there for life. I will always be a big Manchester United fan.”
