End of an era in WSL as Bright, Kerr, McCabe, Mead and more move on

By Charlotte Marsh, Sky Sports' senior football journalist

Every summer brings change in football - teams move leagues, players move clubs, but this year has a different feel in the WSL.

A raft of legendary names are changing their futures. Some are retiring, some are leaving after long, successful spells at one club and others are looking for pastures new.

Without a doubt, it is the end of an era. The players that built the league, spearheading the way for women's football in England, are starting to make way for the new generation.

Millie Bright (Chelsea)

Millie Bright announced her immediate retirement from football and departure from Chelsea in April, choosing to pursue new opportunities rather than continue playing or take up an ambassador role with the club.

The defender had been struggling with injury for years, as well as the mental toll, and abruptly retired from international football ahead of Euro 2025.

But she will go down as one of the WSL’s best, having broken the league’s appearance record earlier this year, and helped guide Chelsea through 12 years of unprecedented success.

She is a legend and she’s left the game in a better place… she’s bubbly and has so much energy. You feel safe around her very quickly. She helped me a lot and was always there to encourage me and lift me up in moments that I needed it. What she's done at Chelsea and over the course of her career is incredible.

She is the Blues’ record appearance holder (314), scoring 19 times on the way to winning all eight of the club's WSL titles to date, with two of those forming part of domestic trebles in 2021 and 2025. Overall, Bright won a total of 20 trophies.

Bright was key as England won the Euro 2022 title and led the team in Leah Williamson’s absence during the 2023 World Cup, in which the Lionesses finished as runners-up.

Her only regret on the trophy front will be missing out on the Champions League – the one that Chelsea continue to chase.

Regardless, she can certainly look back on her career as an incredible success.

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Sam Kerr (Chelsea)

Much like Bright, Sam Kerr will go down in WSL history as one of the driving forces behind Chelsea's unprecedented success.

Known for her ruthlessness in front of goal, Kerr leaves the club as their joint-highest scorer along with Fran Kirby - scoring 116 times - and their highest in the WSL (65). One of those was the winning goal on her final Chelsea appearance against Man Utd.

Kerr has also made the fourth-highest number of appearances (158) for Chelsea, winning multiple trophies in her six-and-a-half years there, including five WSL titles, and three FA Cups.

She won two WSL's Golden Boots among her numerous personal accolades and in October 2023, she was the runner-up in the Ballon d'Or behind Aitana Bonmati.

However, she suffered an ACL injury on a winter training camp in January 2024 which kept her on the sidelines for almost two years. She return to action in September, scoring her 100th Chelsea goal against Aston Villa.

She's an incredible player and person, she's always making everyone smile. She's someone who's going to be missed not just for her football ability and playing with her has been an absolute delight. There's not many strikers in the women's game who are as intelligent as she is in the box. Chelsea have been really lucky to have had her for so many years.

Kerr finishes the 2025/26 season with a League Cup winners medal, but would have liked another one or two - plus a more consistent season - to end her time at Chelsea.

But the Australia international will always be considered among the WSL's best-ever strikers, and will continue to be an asset wherever she goes next.

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Beth Mead (Arsenal)

There were emotional scenes at the Emirates last week as Beth Mead bid farewell to Arsenal.

The 31-year-old announced in a video on Monday that she would be leaving the Gunners when her contract expires this summer, bringing an end to nine seasons at the club, where she won the 2018/19 Women's Super League title and also last season's Champions League final.

It was her assist for Stina Blackstenius' winner that sealed the European title in Lisbon, with the winger having also played huge roles in England's Euro 2022 and 2025 successes.

Mead, who joined the Gunners from Sunderland in 2017, made 266 appearances for the club, scoring 86 goals. She remains poised on 49 WSL assists too.

Renee Slegers revealed there had been "honest and transparent conversations" between Mead and the club over her future, which was eventually determined would be away from the Emirates Stadium.

"She has done so much for the club, so it is going to be strange to see her in another shirt," the Arsenal boss said.

A serial winner, she will bring the same experience and mentality to her next club.

A highly likeable and humble character who doesn't take herself too seriously but is equally dedicated to her craft. She cares deeply about football. She cares about people too. Her presence will no doubt be missed by many at London Colney after such an impactful nine years.

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Katie McCabe (Arsenal)

After ten-and-a-half years, Katie McCabe follows Mead in leaving Arsenal when her contract expires this summer.

She has won everything there is to win at club level, and despite being offered a new contract, decided to find a new challenge elsewhere.

McCabe is the tough-tackling utility player that has spearheaded Arsenal. In the hard moments, she's the one that has helped rallied her teammates and has been vital in their successes.

She won over fans with her effort and commitment, demonstrated in her versatility. McCabe has played in every outfield position in her decade there and often contributes in the final third, which is rare for a defender. The Gunners are losing a real leader in their dressing room as they pivot towards a younger demographic of squad.

McCabe made 306 appearances for Arsenal scoring 37 goals, and in 2023, became the first Irish player since Roy Keane to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or.

Media reports suggest she is on her way to the newly-crowned WSL champions Man City as they look to defend their title.

There's no doubting she can still bring plenty to any team, and Arsenal will hope they don't come to question the wisdom of allowing such a player to move to a WSL rival.

It's been an honour and I think especially towards the end, we've grown closer to each other as well… My respect for Katie is huge. If you are loyal to a club for 11 years and you give everything, it's very rare nowadays. She's done so much, she's a legend of the club. If you take away Katie McCabe and someone else has to go in and bring the exact same thing, that's not possible.

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Laura Coombs (Man City)

Laura Coombs is going out as a champion. She helped Man City lift their first WSL trophy in ten years, and her first since 2015 at Chelsea.

The midfielder announced her retirement in April after a 19-year career that saw her feature for some of England’s biggest clubs.

Her six years at Man City saw her add the FA Cup and League Cup to her trophy cabinet, winning everything there is to win in domestic football.

"What a way to retire. She's got another amazing game to play as well [the FA Cup final]. I'm so happy for her. She's a fantastic teammate but an even better person. I love her and I hope she enjoys tonight. I'll make sure she does.

Coombs has proven to be dependable and versatile while, filling in different positions across the team – especially when injuries began to bite – and has been vital in leading a team full of stars, even if she rarely took the headlines.

The classic box-to-box midfielder, Coombs’ reliability was perhaps best demonstrated when she was a surprise call-up to Sarina Wiegman’s England squad in 2023 after eight years out of the international picture.

She was part of the squad that finished as runners-up at the World Cup that year, earning seven Lionesses caps.

Coombs finished her WSL career with a superb goal for Man City at West Ham as they celebrated their WSL victory. She could yet add an FA Cup medal to her cabinet as she bows out on a high.

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Leah Galton (Man Utd)

Leah Galton is leaving Manchester United after eight years upon the expiry of her contract.

She was part of the club’s first professional squad in 2018, and has helped them to a host of firsts, including WSL2 promotion, an FA Cup and Champions League campaigns.

She was one of three ‘originals’ left at the club, alongside Millie Turner and Ella Toone, and she leaves having made 171 appearances across all competitions, scoring 44 goals.

The winger is also Man Utd’s top WSL goalscorer with 35 goals, scoring her highest single haul (10) in the 2022/23 season, which remains the club’s highest league finish (second) and points tally (56).

Despite a back injury keeping her from action since the turn of the year, Galton has been key in Man Utd’s success since their reformation.

From the get-go, I knew how special she was. We were both left-footed wingers and she's a few years older than me, so I always looked up to her and she helped me massively. She's stuck by Man Utd, got them through some tough times and also got them to the cup finals. I've seen the hard work she does and also what she does for the fans. She'll be a massive miss, but she's not done yet. 

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Bethany England (Tottenham)

After three and a half years at Tottenham, striker Bethany England is leaving the club this summer.

While she is not retiring like some of the other players in this list, it is another WSL legend on the move.

Any decision you make there is always going to be a risk but I believe we are aligned and confident in what we need to do. Beth has been a huge part of what we've done, she's played a key role here and I have no doubt in her future endeavours she will do the same. I have huge respect for her and what she has done for the game.

Having spent seven years at Chelsea, her move to Spurs in January 2023 was a then-domestic record transfer fee. Eight months later, she was named as team captain.

She has scored 38 goals in 85 appearances across all competitions for Spurs, and helped steer the club to their first FA Cup final in 2024, which they lost to Man Utd.

But along with her multiple trophies from her time at Chelsea, she also has a few WSL records in her career as one of the trailblazers.

- Most consecutive games scored in (9 between 29 November 2019 to 23 February 2020)
- Most goals scored as headers (17)
- Has scored against every team she has faced, along with Sam Kerr and Vivianne Miedema.

Wherever she ends up next, they are getting a striker full of experience and one who can still regularly score goals.

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Gemma Bonner (Liverpool)

A bonafide WSL and Liverpool legend, Gemma Bonner is leaving her beloved Reds after a second spell at the club.

She is the club's all-time leading appearance maker in the WSL era, having played 186 games in total, and captained Liverpool to the league title in 2013 and 2014 under the late Matt Beard.

She helped Liverpool re-establish themselves in the top league after their promotion when she returned in January 2023, and has been vital as helping secure the Reds' place in the WSL.

A fantastic servant for Liverpool. It's something to be really proud of, particularly the amount of appearances and the two spells she had at the club... She goes with our best wishes because she’s given a lot to the club and we really appreciate everything that she’s done on and off the pitch to drive this club forward.

In the interim, Bonner played for Man City and Racing Louisville in the NWSL, having also played for Leeds and Chelsea in her career.

Such is her impact at the club, she has a dressing room at the Kirkby Academy named after her, although has seen her WSL appearances limited to just ten this season due to injury.

Bonner was fit enough to make her final Liverpool farewell against Arsenal on Saturday, as she ponders her next move.

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Lucy Staniforth (Aston Villa)

The journeywoman of the WSL - Lucy Staniforth has represented seven teams in the league, the most of any player. This includes Liverpool, Man Utd and most recently, Aston Villa.

She has seen plenty of change over her 17 years as a player, from the success of North East academies - she came through at Sunderland - through to the wild success of women's football both domestically and internationally.

Having played alongside Stan, I know the qualities she brings both as a player and a person. She has been a valued part of the group during her time at Villa and while she will be greatly missed around the club, we wish her all the very best for the future.

Staniforth won the WSL title with Liverpool in 2014, and was twice a runner-up in the FA Cup with Sunderland and the Bristol Academy.

But such is the life of a female football, back-to-back ACL injuries in 2014, one occurring in each knee, saw her miss almost three years of football.

However, she continued to play for almost ten years after, and earned her first senior England call-up in 2018. She scored on her debut against Kazakhstan in September of that year, and represented the Lionesses at two World Cups, earning a runners-up medal in 2023.

Staniforth has said she is "at ease" with her decision to retire, and can reflect on the ups and downs that have shaped her career.

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