Mary Earps admits she is expecting to be booed as she returns to to her former club Manchester United on Wednesday evening, just a week after revealing all in her new autobiography.
Earps’ Paris Saint-Germain face Marc Skinner’s side at Old Trafford in the Champions League and the former England goalkeeper said: ‘I’m probably expecting a little booing.
‘I hope it’s a little bit, but it might be a lot. A few of the fans have come out to support me at PSG, but Manchester United is their number one team. I understand that.’
Earps’ autobiography All In: Football, Life and Learning to be Unapologetically Me sent shockwaves through women’s football due to her criticism of England boss Sarina Wiegman and her goalkeeping rival Hannah Hampton.
Skinner, who knows Earps well having managed her at United for three years, said: ‘Me and Mary have always had a good relationship so I’ll say nothing but good things.
‘I’ve not read the book. I’m hearing snippets, of course I am. I’m always one who thinks you have to be careful what you say, but Mary believes in it. So that’s her truth, she has to speak it.
Mary Earps says she is expecting to be booed on her return to Man United on Wednesday
Marc Skinner says United will ‘pay tribute’ to her work at Old Trafford but concedes that he has not read her book
‘We’ll welcome her as somebody that is on the opponents’ team in this game but also always pay tribute to what she has done when she was at Manchester United. I know Mary is a good person, so I look forward to the challenge of trying to beat her and her team .’
Earps, who will also face former England and United team-mate Ella Toone, also revealed in the book that she decided to leave the club last summer at the end of her contract due to a lack of urgency from Skinner and the club to tie her to a new deal, while fans accused her of running her contract down. ‘She might speak about the urgency, but the club will have their own view on that,’ said Skinner. ‘I wasn’t in those conversations. She didn’t sign a contract and we move on.’
It is both teams’ third game in the league phase of the competition, with United sitting fifth after having won their first two games.
PSG are yet to pick up a point in the competition and will be looking to the leadership of their 32-year-old, European champion goalkeeper to help turn their run of form around. Earps was in the United team the last time they played PSG, losing a qualifier in 2023 before achieving their goal this season of reaching the group stage for the first time.
Skinner does not believe the Earps controversy will overshadow the occasion. ‘If you know anything about Manchester United, there’s noise everywhere,’ he said.
‘We just focus on the football. It’s a huge week, we know that. The first Champions League game at Old Trafford for the women’s team is a historic moment.’
