Alex Greenwood: An insight into the City captain.

Image: Alex Greenwood Credit: BBC Sport

By Lola Casarejos Romero (18/12/2024)

Alex Greenwood is an English defender who plays for, and captains, Manchester City. She is a consistent call-up for England’s Lionesses providing strength and security to their backline. Her success has made her a household name in the world of women’s football.

Club Career

Alex Greenwood started her career in her home city as she broke into the first team of Everton just a month before her 17th birthday where she debuted in a Champions League qualification match which Everton won 6-0. In the inaugural season of the WSL, she was named FA Young Player of the Year in 2012 as she became a reliable player.

Due to their relegation in 2014, Greenwood requested a transfer to protect her spot in the national team.

She then signed for Notts County where she played 22 matches, netting 4 goals. However it wasn’t long before she soon returned to her home city to play for Liverpool FC from March of 2016 until the July of 2018. While at Liverpool, she played 38 matches and scored 6 times.

Due to her performance being incredible during her time at Notts County at the beginning of the season as well as carrying her top tier performance on when she joined Liverpool for the end of the season, Greenwood was named in the FA WSL Team of the Year 2015/16.

As her time in Liverpool ended, the defender made the move to captain Manchester United in their first season in the top-flight of English football. Greenwood’s time here was short-lived as she soon moved to play internationally.

In the 2019/20 season, she played out of England for the first time when Manchester United announced that they had agreed to transfer Greenwood to the French Division 1 Féminine team Olympique Lyonnais and it was ‘subject to personal terms’. Even though she was not there for long, she managed to make her first Champions League appearance since she was at Everton in 2010. During this match, Lyon won the Champions League with a 3-1 win over Wolfsburg. This earnt Lyon the quadruple of trophies that year.

Following the expiration of her contract at Lyon, Greenwood signed a three-year contract at Manchester City and has been there ever since.

The 31-year-old wears the number 5 shirt as she is a constant name in the starting line-up. Since joining in September 2020, the defender has made 135 appearances and has scored 5 goals.

She became the captain of City at the beginning of the 2024/25 season, following the retirement of former Lioness, Steph Houghton.

International Career

During her time at Everton, she got called up for the England's under-19 team ahead of the 2012 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship in Turkey. Her leadership beams prominent at an early age, Greenwood captained the England’s youth teams.

The defender was the youngest player on England’s team at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where she helped the team win the bronze medal after defeating Germany.  

Her consistency earned her a place in the 2022 Euros squad which was won by England at Wembley. The following year, Greenwood first captained England during the Arnold Clark Cup in February of 2023 which the international side also went on to win.

Soon enough came the 2023 World Cup in which she played in all seven matches where they lost in the final following a 1-0 defeat to Spain, despite this, she has been named as one of the most ‘Outstanding’ players of the tournament as she was named alongside others as the best centre backs of the tournament.

Alex Greenwood is a player with a strong legacy as she has strengthened the backline of every team she has been in as she has become a role model for many.