The Manchester City, England and Team GB goalkeeper Karen Bardsley has announced that she will retire at the end of the season at the age of 37.
Bardsley has played 82 times for England, going to seven major tournaments, and was an ever-present for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics.
“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 it was the right moment,” Bardsley said. “As sad and strange as it is to be stepping away from something I’ve committed my entire young adult life to, ultimately it’s something I feel really proud of and I 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.”
Bardsley, born in California to Mancunian parents, has been at City since 2013 and the club said they would honour her on Wednesday at their final home game of the season, against Birmingham City.
Bardsley made her England debut in March 2005 and had been due to go to last year’s Olympics in Tokyo until injury forced her withdrawal. She helped England to finish as runners-up at Euro 2009 and was named in Fifa’s team of the tournament for the 2015 World Cup, at which England won bronze.
Gavin Makel, Manchester City Women’s managing director, described Bardsley as “a real legend of the game” and the team’s head coach, Gareth Taylor, said: “Karen has left an undeniable mark on women’s football and I believe that her playing career is just the start of the overall impact she will make. Although injury has limited her appearances on the pitch during my time in charge, she has remained an integral member of our team and has made a real difference behind the scenes.”
Bardsley played in the US and Sweden until 2013, when she signed for Lincoln, before moving to City at the end of that season.
