From Sheffield to the world: Ellie Roebuck went from Sheffield United to Manchester City to England international – and the FIFA ‘The Best’ nominee has some advice

At 21, Roebuck has over 50 senior appearances to her name for Manchester City, a host of UEFA Women’s Champions League games under her belt, a number of England caps and recently added a third FA Cup medal to her trophy cabinet.

The goalkeeper, who has now cemented her place as City’s number 1, has seen the women’s game come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, but there wasn’t an easy route to where she is now.

Speaking to The Star shortly before keeping a clean sheet to help her side progress to the UWCL Round of 16, Roebuck said, “Growing up, I actually played in the boys league in Sheffield… I played for Beighton Magpies since I was four or five.

“I went up and actually won the boy’s A Division, which was a really nice achievement for me, and then I transitioned at 11 or 12 into Sheffield United’s Centre of Excellence… From then on I was there until 15 when I signed for City.”

And there’s a lot of love for the Blades, who she says there was ‘no better feeling’ than donning the colours of her hometown club as a youngster.

She said, “I’m a huge Sheffield United fan, I’ve had a season ticket since I could walk to be honest, and I’ve gone to the games with my dad - so signing for them was something I’d always wanted to do. So I was really glad I had that opportunity.

“I was so proud to play for them, and still now I believe that they played such an important role in getting me to where I am now. The progression of having the Centre of Excellence, even though they didn’t have a women’s first team then, was good for me. I came to City because of that.

“Now they’re more on board with that (having a women’s first team), which is so, so good to see for me personally. But growing up and wearing the shirt of the team you support, there’s no better feeling.”

Tonight will see FIFA crown a host of winners at their ‘The Best’ awards in Switzerland, and while she may not have made the final three this year, the Sheffielder was the one of only two English athletes (Lucy Bronze was the other) to make the list of nominees for 2020.

Roebuck, who was at St. George’s Park on social media when she found out she was among the six best women’s goalkeepers in the world, sees it as an exciting building-block for herself.

“I found out on Twitter!” she laughed. “It was the oddest thing ever. I was just sat on camp scrolling through Twitter, saw it, and just thought, ‘Oh, well that’s pretty decent!’ It was a nice surprise.

“I didn’t even consider being in the nominations for that award, so being nominated was a huge achievement… It’s something I was really proud of, and if you look at the age gap between me and the other nominees I think the next youngest is 27. So it’s a huge platform for me to build on, hopefully I’ll keep getting those nominations and help both my club and country along the way.”

And she’s certainly well placed to do that that with the Citizens…

“Here at City, I think the club leads the way in women’s football, just the integration with the men’s setup and academy – it’s cliché, but it really is just one team. You don’t feel any different, and it’s such a good home that I’m lucky to be a part of. I have everything that I need to be the best I can be.”

So what is next for the talented shot-stopper? She’s got her eyes set on Tokyo and Gothenburg.

She told The Star, “Short-term, I want to go to and play in the Olympics… Having been at the 2019 World Cup as an extended team player, it opened my eyes. So I just want to play on the best stage for England and also the best stage for City – that means progressing in the Champions League and getting to the final of that.”

It’s a dream that hundreds of young girls can relate to, no doubt. And Roebuck is another example to youngsters in South Yorkshire – and elsewhere – that it’s ok to dream big. So does she have any advice to those looking to follow in her footsteps?

“There are so many more opportunities now,” she said. “But I’d also encourage girls to be as brave as possible – even if that means playing for a boys team. Playing with the lads was such an important part of my development, and I fully believe that that was key to where I am now.

“I think it’s about not being afraid to want to play football – there are so many opportunities in girls teams now, and the standard is so much higher, so you’ve got to get your head down and play footy. It wasn’t really until I was 14 or 15 that I really realised that I could achieve something and take it seriously – if you enjoy it then it makes the experience even better.”

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