Legendary Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps says it was 'maddening' to lose top spot to Hannah Hampton

Earps, who became famous for her performances for her country in Euro 2021 and the 2023 World Cup, was named the world's best female goalkeeper for her efforts.

But the PSG keeper abruptly retired from England duty weeks before the Lionesses flew to Switzerland to retain their European Championship crown.

She had been challenged for the top spot by Chelsea's Hannah Hampton, and said losing the number one role affected her mental health.

Read More: Lioness Mary Earps reveals she is in a same-sex relationship ahead of memoir release

Read More: Legendary England goalkeeper Mary Earps announces retirement from international football

Speaking ahead of the release of her new memoir, Earps said: "It was definitely maddening in the sense that that sort of situation can play with your mental health and the way you feel about yourself, and you start questioning everything. What am I doing? What have I done wrong? What can I do better?

"And those were the questions I was asking because I was desperately trying to get clarity. It was definitely affecting the way I felt about myself, like my self-worth in a way.

"It seemed like the best thing to do was, you know, remove myself from the situation. And I think the way it played out was the way it was meant to be. The girls went on to have a fantastic tournament and won."

As a result of falling down the pecking order, Earps says she is no longer close with England coach Sarina Wiegman.

On her relationship with the elite coach, she said: "I think that hopefully we will have a conversation in the future, and after everything settles down, we can just draw a line under everything.

"But when we last spoke, I saw her at the Ballon d'Or, and at St George's Park, we both acknowledged that you know we had a difference of opinion and a difference of perspective on certain things.

"We weren't quite seeing things the same way, but that doesn't take away from the memories we've shared and the respect that's there certainly from my side."

Earps, who is reportedly the world's highest-paid goalkeeper, watched the Lionesses retain their trophy from the sofa.

Of watching the Euro 2025 triumph, she said: "It was a completely different perspective watching it from my sofa or from the sidelines when I went out and watched but it was one that filled me with immense pride.

'"I've known a lot of these girls for a long time, so I saw them more than I saw my own family at times.

"And you know, to watch them go on and achieve back-to-back European championships was incredible. Yeah, I was proud."

She also confirmed that during the summer, she froze her eggs in the hope that she can become a parent in the future.

She said: "It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. I've obviously put my body and mind through a lot playing this beautiful game that I love, and I think one of the fears that I've had is that maybe I wouldn't be able to have kids.

"And you never know until you try, and I think that knowing that I'm in my 30s now and trying to give myself the best chance and not knowing when I'm going to want to maybe take that step to have to try to have a family.

"I wanted to give myself the best possible chance. I would, if I had an ideal world, do it after my career."

As part of the publicity for the book, Earps revealed her same-sex relationship publicly for the first time.

She said: "Truth be told, I didn't want to talk about my relationship. I've always tried to keep my personal, professional life separate. I think I've signed up to this life in a way, and I wanted to protect the people that haven't - friends, family, loved ones.

"But it would be inauthentic to write a book and discuss all the things I discuss and be so open about everything but the most important relationship in my life and the person who's helped me become who I am. She's a huge part of my life."