The PSG goalkeeper was criticised for announcing the end of her career with the Lionesses just weeks before the start of Euro 2025 but the player is adamant that it was a "very hard decision" that had been on her mind for a while.

Earps told Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast: "It was difficult and it was painful.

"Some people were amazing and the girls, the way they had my back … that meant the absolute world to me. These are girls that I grew up with and have so many amazing memories with. It was sad but I think it’s the right thing.

"I think that I was villainised in a way, that probably was a bit hard to see things and read things, but it’s more what my friends and family see. I’m upset for them because I’m like: ‘You didn’t choose this. You’ve got to now deal with this.’ That’s hard. But in the end I feel like it was the right decision."

Earps admits that she is unsure how she will feel watching England at Euro 2025 this summer but is confident that the team can put up a strong defence of their continental title.

She said: "I don’t want it to be painful watching them but I won’t know until it’s there because I felt almost a bit of relief because it had been so long coming.

"The girls are, first of all, a phenomenal team. I think they’re going to do really, really well, so I’m really looking forward to seeing that."

Earps accepts that her retirement may have caught some by surprise but she knew that the time was right to bring her international career to a close.

She explained: "Mentally, physically, I was just like: ‘Right, I’ve given everything here.’ Maybe other people weren’t experiencing it the way I was experiencing it. I’m quite private, I keep everything in and I try to internalise it and rationalise it. Maybe it was shocking to some people but I think [that was because] we’ve been having those conversations behind closed doors."