Ellie Roebuck: Her resilience and determination to inspire WSL and Lionesses return
Ellie Roebuck is a twenty-six-year-old goalkeeper who currently plays for Aston Villa Women in the Barclays Women’s Super League, following a return to England from Barcelona FC Women.
In 2019, at just twenty-years-old, she won the Barclays Women’s Super League Golden Glove award for keeping the most clean sheets in the season, setting a record for being the youngest goalkeeper to win the award at the time.
Known for playing an outfield style of goalkeeping, Roebuck tends to use her feet a lot, which made many think that she would suit Barcelona’s playing style perfectly, considering they are a very technical team. However, following a life-changing diagnosis, a return to the WSL was on the cards this summer.
Her early career
At just eighteen-years-old, the goalkeeper put pen to paper to sign her first professional contract with Manchester City Women. After making her debut a month later, being subbed on for Karen Bardsley against dominant side, Chelsea, Roebuck went on to spend another seven more years at the club. However, when three times UEFA Women’s Champions League winners Barcelona came calling, Roebuck joined the Spanish Champions to follow her dreams.
Her last game for City was the penultimate game of the 2022/23 season on the 21st May 2023 against their biggest rivals, Manchester United. A few minutes before half time, we saw her carry out a tackle on England teammate, Nikita Parris, resulting in her being given a red card and missing the last game of the season. Meaning that the last full game Roebuck played for Manchester City was a 2-1 defeat against Liverpool away from home. Despite how the season concluded, England manager, Sarina Wiegman made the decision to call her up for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
After the World Cup, the goalkeeper and others returned to Manchester for the start of the 2023/24 season. With Roebuck having been the first-choice goalkeeper for City for a while, fans were shocked and confused to see her start the season sitting on the bench.
As the season progressed, the confusion amongst the fans grew stronger when she was then no longer on the bench. Speaking on her absence from the starting lineup and even the squad in a piece for the Player’s Tribune, the youngster expressed:
“I’d warm up with the team, shower, and sit with the fans. Like, you’re making me travel to Arsenal away, to Leicester away, to sit in the stands. Why? That was probably the hardest part.”
Questions grew amongst the fans, most regarding her red card in the penultimate match of the 2021/22 season, wondering if that caused some controversy between her and the manager at the time, Gareth Taylor.
A challenging period
In late March 2024, Roebuck made a post on Instagram that gathered a large audience announcing she had suffered a left occipital infarct: thankfully there was no damage to her brain function or vision. She then finished the season with City, having won one league title, three Women’s FA Cups, three FA Women’s League Cups and the WSL Golden Glove trophy in 2019.
It was the end of the 2023/24 season and Roebuck made the move to Catalan side, Barcelona. However, this dream move went far from planned for the young goalkeeper.
Having to compete with other players, including Spain number one, Cata Coll and Gemma Font, Roebuck struggled to find her place in the starting lineup. Nineteen months on from suffering a stroke, in December of 2024, she made her comeback in a 4-1 win over Real Betis, conceding late into the game in the 90th minute.
Having endured the long rehab process, and mental challenges as a result of her stroke, Roebuck shared nothing but gratitude via an Instagram post following her Barcelona debut:
“Nothing will ever beat this feeling.”
Since her comeback, Roebuck made only one other appearance for the Spanish Champions, before deciding her next chapter was approaching.
A return to the WSL and international setup
In the summer of 2025, Roebuck decided to return to the WSL, signing a two-year deal with Aston Villa.
So far, she made her first WSL appearance since May 2023, coming on for Sabrina D’Angelo in what resulted in a goalless draw to Brighton & Hove Albion. She got her first start for the claret and blue side against the current title holders, Chelsea; this unfortunately resulted in a 3-1 defeat against the Blues.
Roebuck’s increase in game time has shown how technical of a goalkeeper she is. Most notably, she is recognised for her outfield style of play and leadership from the back.
As a result of all her hard work, especially since a challenging period in Spain following her life-changing stroke, Wiegman called Roebuck up in the final international break of the year. Named in the matchday squad for the Lionesses’ homecoming series matches against both China at Wembley and Ghana at Southampton, this is a full circle moment for the goalkeeper.
The future is bright, and she will continue to use her resilience and determination to impressive at both club and country.