Our Lionesses are underpaid unknowns no more! How little-known footballers have turned into national heroines - in journeys that have also transformed their lives off the pitch

Daily Mail​

7 hours ago

Their triumph at the 2022 Euros turned England's Lionesses from little-known footballers into national heroines.
And if the tournament made them famous, it also transformed their lives off the pitch.
From lucrative brand ambassadorships with high-end fashion labels such as Gucci to turns on the red carpet in dresses worthy of a Kardashian, England's female footballers now enjoy more than a touch of glitz and glamour.
Once badly paid and barely recognised – who could forget goalie Mary Earps complaining before the last Euros that Nike hadn't even bothered to print replica shirts with her name on them – the nation's female footballers now have a soaring commercial appeal.
So as they prepare to face France at 8pm tonight in their first game of this year's Euros – and inspire a new generation of young women with their sporting prowess – Molly Clayton reveals which of our Lionesses enjoys the most luxurious lifestyle.
The Gucci model
Shoots for Vogue, GQ and Elle Magazine. Modelling for Calvin Klein. Gucci snapping her up as a brand ambassador. Clearly, as well as being an impressive England captain, Leah Williamson, 28, has a catwalk-worthy fashion career too.
One of the biggest earners off the pitch after leading the Lionesses to victory at the Euro 2022 final, the blonde beauty has a deal with Nike and has collaborated with global brands such as Aston Martin, Pepsi, Walkers and Mastercard.
With 1.1 million Instagram followers, she has new advert partnerships with Weetabix and Cadbury, along with six children's books, titled The Wonder Team. With the deals comes the gloss: her recent lavish Mallorcan holiday to an Ikos resort would have set her back in the region of £1,000 a night.
She is rumoured to be dating former model and Miss USA Elle Smith – both have posted about each other on social media.
Ella the business brainbox
With her ever-present fake eyelashes and love of make-up, Manchester United midfielder Ella Toone, 25, often showcases her beauty routine on her own YouTube channel. And with a canny business acumen to boot, Ella has already shaped an enviable off-pitch career.
The first England women's player to trademark her name, she's set up her own brand, ET7, which includes a football academy for young girls.
The name is inspired by her childhood hero, Portuguese footballing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, whose own brand is called CR7.
With some estimating her worth at more than £1 million, last month she set up her own creative agency, Amicizia, which aims to connect female athletes to commercial and marketing opportunities with top brands.
Her sponsors include make-up company Charlotte Tilbury, orthodontic brand Invisalign and McDonald's, with her yearly earnings estimated as upwards of £200,000, fuelled by her popularity on social media.
At one point, she was one of the top five most viewed athletes on TikTok.
Ella has 737,000 Instagram followers and her own BBC podcast with best friend and fellow Lioness Alessia Russo, with whom she has appeared on the front cover of fashion and beauty magazine Elle.
Ella loves nothing more than a red carpet bash. In a relationship with footballer Joe Bunney of Stalybridge Celtic FC, she regularly treats her fans to glimpses of their lavish holidays abroad and spa days at five-star hotels.
Lauren's ooh la la lego
Proving that every passion can be profitable, Manchester City forward Lauren Hemp, 24, has topped up her estimated £400,000 salary with a sponsorship deal with Lego.
Devoted to creating Lego masterpieces in her downtime, saying it's 'the best way to relax', she's even made the Mona Lisa out of the bricks. Her other sponsors include Nike and Sports Direct.
Lauren also has the support of her girlfriend, former Liverpool midfielder Ashley Hodson. Together for two years, the pair recently enjoyed a romantic trip to Paris, where Lauren saw the Mona Lisa in her more traditional setting.
Shy superstar with an ex on the team
Growing up, Lucy Bronze lived on Lindisfarne – also known as Holy Island – off the windswept coast of Northumberland. Her grandmother was caretaker of Lindisfarne Castle and today the outline of that building is tattooed on Lucy's wrist.
Shy into adulthood, she was diagnosed with ADHD and autism in 2021. But neither her isolated upbringing nor her neurodiversity held her back. Rather, she's said she uses the intense focus associated with her conditions to her advantage – and now the 33-year-old is one of the biggest earners in the game.
She reportedly took home £200,000 a year while playing at Barcelona before her move to Chelsea in 2024.
Big money deals followed her triumph at the last Euros, with Pepsi, EE, Klarna and Visa among her backers. Her former girlfriend is fellow Lioness Keira Walsh.
Fashion week regular
She earned almost £2 million in 2023 alone, according to Forbes magazine. That same year, Alessia Russo's transfer from Manchester United to Arsenal made her one of the most expensive female footballers on the planet. Her contract is said to be worth more than £500,000 a year and her commercial appeal is just as lucrative.
She has deals with Gucci, Adidas, PlayStation, Beats by Dr Dre and last month was gifted an MGS5 EV car, which she proudly showed off on Instagram.
A regular at London Fashion Week, Alessia, 26, has appeared on the cover of magazines such as Women's Health. The BAFTA TV Awards in May saw her in a £1,295 Roland Mouret dress, right.
Revealing outfits... on pitch too!
Hair scraped back and with braces on her teeth, Chloe Kelly scored that late winning goal against Germany at Wembley in 2022, famously taking off her top in celebration. Since then, she has revelled in her success with a glossy makeover.
Gone are the braces, replaced with a sparkling smile worthy of social media. Her eyebrows have had the Ombre treatment – a £350 semi-permanent procedure where tiny needles put pigment in the skin.
She's also turned heads in daringly revealing outfits (cut-out panels are very much Chloe's style) on red carpets that range from the MTV awards to the Baftas.
From the latter, she shared pictures from her 'gifted' night at a swanky central London hotel, and her accompanying hair and make-up experience with her 962,000 Instagram followers. She's also done fashion shoots wearing Prada and Versace, looking every inch an accomplished model.
Last year she married her long-term partner Scott Moore in a lavish ceremony at Merrydale Manor in Cheshire wearing a £15,000 Galia Lahav wedding dress, with see-through lace panels on each side.
Little wonder, then, that Chloe's earning power has boomed: there's been a deal with Land Rover, Nike have made her a brand ambassador and she partners with The Gym Kitchen and Doritos.
And this week, she signed a deal with Arsenal believed to be worth £150,000 a year.
In 2023, Chloe was the only Lioness to make it onto the Women's World Cup highest paid list, with a claim she earns £933,500 a year.
Burberry clad goalie
Hannah Hampton – the long-haired goalkeeper with the girl-next-door looks – certainly has big shoes to fill after Mary Earps surprisingly announced her retirement from the squad last month.
The 24-year-old Chelsea player has posed in Burberry for Elle magazine and counts Nike and Extra chewing gum among her corporate sponsors. She also works with Birmingham Children's Hospital after enduring numerous eye operations as a child to cure a squint.
Hannah was told she would never be a professional sports player. 'I've gone through life proving people wrong,' she said recently, words that inspired devotion among her 228,000 Instagram followers.
Her relationship status isn't known.
Dubai devotee
She never travels without her Louis Vuitton luggage, can often be seen posing in a Maybach car, and enjoys swanky trips to Dubai, staying at the luxury Five resort there.
Chelsea star Lauren James, 23, has treated herself to some of the finer things in life since her key role in the Lionesses' 2023 World Cup campaign. While her relationship status isn't known, she's close to her older brother Reece, who plays for the Chelsea men's team. She has commercial deals with Nike, Google Pixel, Optimum Nutrition, Sure deodorant and Walkers.
The superstar siblings often attend red carpet events together. But while she is reportedly on £350,000 a year at Chelsea, Reece earns £250,000 a week.
Kooky style
So devoted is she to tattoos that midfielder Georgia Stanway, 26, not only has around 100 of her own inkings, but she's also learned to tattoo other people.
The Bayern Munich star's kooky style has won her sponsors including Nike and an advertising deal with Celsius drinks, who featured on her Instagram page, where she has 433,000 followers.
Off the pitch, she's been with Toulouse rugby league player Olly Ashall-Bott since 2022.