Former Liverpool midfielder officially confirms retirement at end of 2025/26 season
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from DaveOCKOP or go back to LFC Live.
One former Liverpool midfielder has officially announced that the 2025/26 campaign will be the final season of their professional playing career. Image Credits: Imago ImagesEndings are everywhere at Liverpool right now.Mohamed Salah is preparing to take his final bow after nine years, Andrew Robertson’s contract expires in the summer, and the broader shape of an era drawing to a close has been inescapable for months.But Anfield’s farewell season extends beyond the first team and beyond the men’s game entirely.This week brought confirmation that another former Red, one who gave three and a half years of committed service to the club, will hang up her boots when the current campaign concludes.Laura Coombs, the Manchester City and former England midfielder has officially announced her retirement on Thursday at the age of 35.The news was confirmed by City, who paid tribute to a player who has spent seven years at the club and become one of its most respected figures during that time.She will bow out, fittingly, with a genuine shot at a WSL title — City currently sitting six points clear of Arsenal with two games remaining.Coombs began her senior career at Arsenal in 2007 and went on to represent some of the biggest clubs in the women’s game.She was part of the Chelsea squad that won their first WSL title in 2015 and claimed an FA Cup in the same period, before a move to Liverpool changed the trajectory of her career in a deeply meaningful way.She arrived at Anfield on loan from Chelsea in December 2015 and made an immediate impression, making 13 league appearances in that first spell and scoring once.The connection with the club proved strong enough to convince her to make the move permanent ahead of the WSL Spring Series in April 2017.Over the course of three and a half years on Merseyside, Coombs became a cornerstone of the Liverpool midfield, accumulating 74 appearances across all competitions, 50 of which came in the WSL, and contributing seven goals, five of those in the league.In her final season at the club in 2018-19, she made 27 appearances and was described by manager Vicky Jepson as “an integral part” of the squad and “a great leader on the pitch.”She departed in June 2019 when her contract expired, joining Manchester City where she would spend the remainder of her playing days.At City, the impact has been equally significant.She made 154 appearances and became just the fourth player in WSL history to feature 200 times in the competition, reaching that milestone in November 2025.Her 27 goals for the club are bettered only by Georgia Stanway, Caroline Weir and Izzy Christiansen among her midfield peers.On the international stage, Coombs earned seven senior England caps and was part of the squad that reached the 2023 World Cup final under Sarina Wiegman, a recall that came after an eight-year absence from the national setup, a testament to the quality she maintained deep into her career.City will celebrate her at their final home game of the season on Sunday.
She has more than earned it. Laura Coombs Manchester City