Fara Williams had the chance to play in the United States, but turned a big move across the pond down.
The England legend spent her entire career in her birth country, playing for Chelsea, Charlton, Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal and Reading, scooping up a league title, a League Cup and an FA Cup in the process.
A move abroad could have been possible when she was playing for the Toffees in the 2009 – but a recent purchase of a house in the area played a huge part in why the transfer never materialised.
Speaking to talkSPORT.com at KIND Snacks’ x, Williams was asked if she’d turned any moves down in the past.
The 40-year-old, who retired in 2021, said: “I did get signed to go play out in the US.
“They signed my rights, but they didn’t realise that if they signed my rights it meant I couldn’t go out there for two years.
“So I did sign for a club out in the US, Philadelphia [Independence] But I didn’t end up going. I didn’t want to go.
“I’d just bought my first house in Liverpool so I ended up staying.
“When I played in Europe for Everton, when we played against some Swedish teams and Norwegian teams, those teams would come and put an offer, or seven day move for me. But I owed too much to the Everton manager at the time.
“I was too loyal so I never went, but no regrets.”
Williams was even drafted into the Women’s Professional Soccer’s International Draft, now known as the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
She was set to join England teammate, now-talkSPORT co-host and pundit Lianne Sanderson, there.
But the iconic midfielder has no regrets about turning down playing overseas.
“I don’t regret it but I did enjoy playing with foreign players here,” she said. “I think they have a different appreciation for players than when I played.
“It’s that English way isn’t it, we’re quite harsh on each other.
“Wanting the best but probably not delivering it in the best way in terms of communication. We’re quite negative.
“Then when I played at Liverpool and we’d signed a few foreign players at the time when I first went there, just the whole communication and how positive they were even in bad moments, you think ‘oh, how would it have been if I went abroad’ just for that reason.”
Transfers in women’s football have completely transformed since Williams started her senior career in the 2000/01 season.
Racheal Kundananji’s move from Madrid CFF to the NWSL’s Bay FC for £685,000 broke the record for a women’s transfer fee in February.
But Williams says that at the start of her career, transfer fees weren’t even a thing, and neither were designated transfer windows.
The 177-cap former England star said: “We didn’t go for transfers back then.
“How the transfer market was, was you could be in season and it just took for a club to call up and ask for seven days.
“That meant you had seven days to speak to that player to make a decision on whether they want to move or not.
“That could happen at any point throughout the season. Obviously a lot has changed, there’s a lot more control, which is a lot better for the clubs.
“So we’re in a much better place now than we were back then.”
Williams was one of the pioneers of women’s football’s revival in England and she’s earned an MBE for her contribution to the sport.
England’s achievements and the work of those behind the scenes growing the women’s game were celebrated on Monday, with England partners KIND Snacks blowing up photos of them onto the billboard at Wembley.
Williams said: “We’re at the home of football for the reveal of KIND snack’s billboard of the England teams. We’re recognising all of the work all the work that goes in behind the scenes, from the elite all the way down to grass routes and in between that, volunteers or whatever it might be. All the graft behind the elite level of the game.
“It’s really nice to see up on the billboard at Wembley some of the work and moments in football we’ve seen across the women’s game over the last year.”
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News Summary:
- I’m an England icon who played for Arsenal and Liverpool but turned down US transfer because I’d just bought a house
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