Maya Le Tissier (born 18 April 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Women's Super League club Manchester United, which she captains, and the England national team.
 Le Tissier with Manchester United in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 18 April 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Guernsey | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.71 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Manchester United | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2018 | St. Martins A.C. (boy's) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 58 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Manchester United | 49 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Guernsey U16 (men's) | ||||||||||||||||
| England U15 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | England U17 | 16 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | England U19 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | England U23 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022– | England | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 October 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
editSt. Martins A.C.
editLe Tissier grew up on the channel island of Guernsey. She first played football at the age of four for local boys' club St. Martins A.C., coached by her father, Darren.[1] With no girls' teams on the island, Le Tissier would fly to Hampshire to play for the county team twice a month from the age of 13, doing so for two years until the time commitment meant she was missing too much school and too many training sessions.[2] She continued to play for St. Martins until the age of 16.[3]
Brighton & Hove Albion
editOn 1 July 2018, Le Tissier joined the academy at English Women's Super League club Brighton & Hove Albion.[4] She was quickly promoted to the first team, being named as an unused substitute for a WSL match against Arsenal on 25 November 2018, and made her senior debut on 5 December, starting and playing the full 90 minutes of a 5–1 League Cup group stage win against Crystal Palace.[5] She made her league debut four days later starting against Chelsea and scored her first goal for the club on 9 May 2021 in a 3–1 league win against Bristol City.[6] She was named as Brighton Women's Young Player of the Season at Albion's end-of-season awards for both the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons.[7][8] In March 2021, she was named by Goal.com in the NXGN 10 best wonderkids list.[9] Le Tissier nominated for PFA Women's Young Player of the Year in June 2022 but lost out to Lauren Hemp, winning the award for a third consecutive season.[10]
Manchester United
editOn 20 July 2022, Le Tissier signed a three-year contract with Manchester United.[11] With one year remaining on her Brighton contract, the club triggered a release clause reportedly between £50,000 and £60,000.[12] She made her club debut on 17 September 2022, starting and scoring two goals in a 4–0 opening day WSL win against Reading.[13] She signed a four-year contract extension with the club on 19 April 2024.[14]
Following the departure of Katie Zelem, Le Tissier was named as the new captain of Manchester United on 27 August 2024.[15] On 19 October 2024, Le Tissier became the youngest player to reach 100 WSL appearances.[16]
International career
editGuernsey
editLe Tissier made history when she became the first female player to play for the Guernsey under-16 boys' team, featuring in the under-16 version of the 2018 Muratti Vase against Jersey under-16s in March of that year.[17]
England
editYouth
editHaving been invited to an England under-15 south west regional camp, Le Tissier went on to captain the England under-15 women's national team.[17] In September 2018, Le Tissier was named captain of the under-17s ahead of 2019 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification.[18] England won all six qualification games without conceding and Le Tissier was named to the final squad for the 2019 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship in Bulgaria.[19] She started all three games as England were eliminated at the group stage on head-to-head goal difference having tied on six points with Germany and Netherlands.
Her step up to under-19 level came on 6 March 2020 against Sweden in the La Manga tournament.[20] She made her under-23 debut at the age of 19 in a friendly against Belgium on 25 October 2021.[21]
Senior
editIn November 2022, Le Tissier received her first senior England call-up for friendlies against Japan and Norway.[22] She made her debut on 15 November, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw with the latter opponent.[23] On 18 November 2022, her England legacy number was announced as number 226.[24] In May 2023, Le Tissier was named to the standby list for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[25] Le Tissier won her fourth cap for England in their Uefa Women’s Euro 2025 qualifier against Republic of Ireland on 12 July 2024, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 win at Carrow Road, Norwich.[26][27]
Personal life
editLe Tissier's father, Darren, previously played semi-professional football for St. Martins A.C.[2] She credits him for introducing her to the team of four-year-old boys he was coaching, of which she has said: "credit to the boys back home, if they didn't just see me as another footballer, then I might not be where I am today."[28]
Despite coming from the same small island of Guernsey and sharing a surname, Le Tissier is not related to the former England international footballer Matthew Le Tissier, although the two families know each other and Darren had previously played football with Matt.[3]
In May 2022, Le Tissier signed up to footballing charity Common Goal, pledging to donate at least one percent of her salary.[29]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 3 November 2024[30]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2018–19 | WSL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| Total | 58 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 2 | ||
| Manchester United | 2022–23 | WSL | 22 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 31 | 2 | |
| 2023–24 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2024–25 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Total | 49 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 70 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 107 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 145 | 7 | ||
International
edit- As of match played 29 October 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 0 | |
Honours
editManchester United
- Women's FA Cup: 2023–24;[31] runner-up: 2022–23[32]
England
Individual
- PFA WSL Team of the Year: 2022–23[35]
- Brighton & Hove Albion Women's Young Player of the Season: 2020–21,[7] 2021–22[8]
- Channel Islands Sports Personality of the Year: 2022[36]
- Manchester United Women's Players' Player of the Year: 2023–24[37]
- Women's Football Awards Young Player of the Year: 2024[38]
References
edit- ^ "Maya Le Tissier on her different pathway to the WSL, working under 'legend' Hope Powell and playing against the world's best". Sky Sports.
- ^ a b McElwee, Molly (26 March 2021). "Meet football's other talented Le Tissier who is making waves at Brighton". The Telegraph.
- ^ a b Lloyd-Hughes, Florence (29 April 2022). "Maya Le Tissier: From small aims (remembering to lock doors) to big ambitions (England captaincy)". The Athletic.
- ^ "Maya Le Tissier on moving to Brighton to pursue her dreams". BBC Radio Jersey. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "Le Tissier hails 'dream' professional debut". ITV. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "Bright 3–1 Bristol City". BBC. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Maya Le Tissier wins Brighton Women's Young Player of the Year". ITV News. 7 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Cucurella at the double at Players' Awards". Brighton & Hove Albion. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ^ "NXGN: Maya Le Tissier, Hanna Bennison and where 2021's best women's football wonderkids are now". www.goal.com. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Le Tissier nominated for PFA award". www.brightonandhovealbion.com.
- ^ "United Women sign Maya Le Tissier". Manchester United.
- ^ "Manchester United sign Le Tissier from Brighton". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Manchester United 4–0 Reading". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Maya Le Tissier: Manchester United defender signs contract extension". BBC Sport. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ "Le Tissier becomes United Women captain". Manchester United. 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ "Le Tissier breaks WSL record at Brighton". Manchester United. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Maya Le Tissier: Guernsey girl, 15, may make history in boys' under-16 Muratti". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
- ^ "Le Tissier captains England U17s to victory in Moldova". Guernsey Press. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "Captain Maya heading for Euro U17 finals with England". guernseypress.com.
- ^ "Emma Coate's Young Lionesses Lose out to late goal against Sweden in La Manga". The FA. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ "Belgium 0–1 England WU23s". The FA. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ "England squad named for Japan and Norway". www.englandfootball.com.
- ^ "England 1 Norway 1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
- ^ "England women's legacy and results archive". England Football. The Football Association. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "England Women's World Cup squad: Beth Mead left out, Beth England in". BBC Sport. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ "Maya shines as she returns as Lioness". Guernsey Press. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ "Patient Le Tissier enjoys roaming at right back in Republic of Ireland win". Bailiwick Express. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ Le Tissier, Maya (10 June 2021). Women's Young Player of the Season 2021: Maya Le Tissier. Brighton and Hove Albion FC. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022 – via YouTube.
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Maya Le Tissier joins Common Goal". www.brightonandhovealbion.com.
- ^ "M. Le Tissier". Soccerway.
- ^ Sanders, Emma (12 May 2024). "Women's FA Cup final: Manchester United beat Tottenham to win first major trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ Wrack, Suzanne (14 May 2023). "Chelsea claim FA Cup hat-trick after Sam Kerr sees off Manchester United". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ Sanders, Emma (6 April 2023). "England beat Brazil on penalties to win Finalissima". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ^ "Arnold Clark Cup: England hit six v Belgium to retain trophy". BBC Sport. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "Rachel Daly: Aston Villa forward wins PFA women's Player of the Year award". BBC Sport. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "Footballer Maya Le Tissier named Sports Personality of the Year". ITV.
- ^ "Toone and Le Tissier share Players' Player of the Year". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Khadija Shaw: Manchester City striker wins at Women's Football Awards". BBC Sport. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.