Alex Greenwood


Alex Greenwood is an English footballer who plays for Olympique Lyonnais in the French Division 1 Féminine and the England national team. Mainly a left-back, she can also play as a centre-back and is considered to be a set-piece specialist.
She has previously played for Manchester United, Liverpool, Notts County and Everton where she began her career. Greenwood has played for the England national football team since 2014 and was named the FA Women's Young Player of the Year in 2012.

Club career

Everton

Liverpool-born Greenwood joined Everton at the age of eight, and progressed through the club's Centre of Excellence. On 5 August 2010, she made her first team debut in a 6–0 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League qualification round win against KÍ. Two days later, in the same competition, Greenwood scored a penalty kick in the 80th minute in a 10–0 victory over FK Borec.
When Everton's longstanding left-back Rachel Unitt signed for Birmingham City after the 2011 FA WSL season, Greenwood took over her place in the team. Throughout the 2012 season she performed so well that she was named FA Young Player of the Year at FA Women's Football Awards in November.
Greenwood played in Everton's 2–0 defeat by Arsenal in the 2014 FA Women's Cup final.

Notts County

When the 2014 season culminated in Everton's relegation, Greenwood requested to leave in order to protect her national team place ahead of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She signed for Notts County on a two-year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee. The move disappointed Everton who wanted Greenwood to leave on loan and come back if they were promoted again.

Liverpool

In January 2016, she joined Liverpool. At the club, she scored in each of the three seasons in the two-year spell with the club, the first came from the penalty spot against Sunderland. At the end of the 2017–18 season, after 44 appearances and six goals, Greenwood was released by the club.

Manchester United

On 13 July 2018, it was announced that Greenwood was joining and would captain Manchester United for their inaugural season. She made her competitive debut for Manchester United in a 1–0 League Cup victory against former club Liverpool on 19 August. On 20 September, she made her Championship debut in a 3–0 win against Sheffield United. On 18 November, she scored her first goal for the club from the penalty spot in a 5–0 win away at Crystal Palace. Greenwood helped Manchester United win the Championship and gain promotion to the FA WSL in their debut season.

Olympique Lyonnais

On 4 August 2019, Manchester United announced they had agreed a deal for the transfer of Greenwood to French Division 1 Féminine team Olympique Lyonnais, subject to personal terms. Lyon confirmed the deal on 8 August for a fee of €40,000, plus €20,000 in potential add-ons. On 24 August, she made her league debut for the club in a 6–0 home win against Olympique Marseille.

International career

Greenwood captained England at youth level and played at the 2012 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. Senior national team coach Mark Sampson selected her for the 2014 Cyprus Cup, where she made her debut against Italy on 5 March 2014. She scored her first goal for England in September 2014, during a 10–0 win in Montenegro.
At the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, youngest member of the squad Greenwood shared England's left-back duties with Claire Rafferty. She won a bronze medal when the team beat Germany in the third place play-off.
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In 2019, Greenwood was part of the England team that won the SheBelieves Cup in the United States. Later that year, Greenwood was selected as part of England's World Cup squad. As part of England's social-media facing squad announcement, her name was announced by singer Olly Murs. On 23 June, Greenwood scored England's third goal in a 3–0 World Cup 2019 round of 16 win against Cameroon, with England progressing to finish fourth in the tournament.

Personal life

Although she joined Everton aged eight and signed her first professional contract with the club, Greenwood was brought up supporting Merseyside rivals Liverpool and admired Jamie Carragher. She attended Savio Salesian College. Greenwood is in a relationship with Jack O'Connell, also a professional footballer for Sheffield United.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
117 September 2014Stadion Pod Malim Brdom, Petrovac, Montenegro8–010–02015 FIFA World Cup qualification
24 June 2016Adams Park, Wycombe, England1–07–0UEFA Euro 2017 qualification
323 June 2019Stade du Hainaut, Valenciennes, France3–03–02019 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Manchester United
Olympique Lyonnais
England
Individual