The Lionesses' have made history by winning the Euros, and Beth Mead is one of the team's biggest stars. But who does the England striker play for and where is she from?
Women's football has exploded in popularity in recent years and 2022 is a huge year for the England team, who ended England's 56-year wait for a major football trophy with their Euros win. After the Lionesses brought football home at Wembley on July 31 - celebrating wholeheartedly with chants of Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline - people all over the country want to know more about who the Lionesses are.
Striker Beth Mead is one of the stand-out stars of the tournament, scoring in four of England's six games - including a hat-trick against Norway in the group stage. Now, she's been named Euro 2022's best player after winning the Golden Boot award given to the tournament's top scorer, and has been honoured with the Freedom of the City, alongside her teammates. Here's everything you need to know about Beth Mead.
Who does Beth Mead play for?
Beth Mead plays for Arsenal and the England national team. She joined Arsenal in January 2017 and plays as a forward for the team.
Prior to her signing with Arsenal, Mead played for Sunderland from the age of 16 to 21. During her time there, she helped take the team all the way to the Women's Super League and earned a reputation as England's finest young striker.
After joining the Gunners, she converted to playing as a winger, to accommodate Vivianne Miedema, who joined the team not long after Mead and was the Women's Super League leading scorer at the time.
In her international career, Mead has played for every England age group since making her debut for the U15s in March 2010. In September 2018, she started her first match for the Lionesses - having played in one game previously as a substitute - where she scored twice in a 6-0 victory against Kazakhstan to round off the team's World Cup qualifying campaign.
How old is Beth Mead?
Beth Mead is 27 years old, and she was born on 9 May, 1995. She started playing football at just six years old, joining a boys team first, and then a local club called California Girls.
In an interview for Arsenal, Mead said "The chairman of the club in Middlesbrough was from California Road, so the California bit came from there. I wish it was in California! I actually played for their boys team first, but then I played for the girls once it had been formed a few years later."
At 10 years old she joined Middlesbrough Centre of Excellence, before moving to Sunderland and the FA Women's Premier League in 2011.
London by night with my faves📍🌃Thanks so much for all the birthday messages, really felt the love. 27 isn’t so bad 🤪🥥 🐱 🐠 pic.twitter.com/tzEQsRdfDHMay 9, 2022
Where is Beth Mead from?
Beth Mead is from Whitby, in Yorkshire. It was here that she first started playing football, and she stayed close to home until she left for Arsenal in 2017.
Whilst playing for Sunderland, Mead was studying at Teeside University, and graduated with a degree in Sports Development in 2016. In February 2022, the university launched The Beth Mead Scholarship, to support aspiring female footballers.
In a video on her Instagram, Mead offered a 'huge congratulations' to the first accepted applicant to the scholarship, and said she was 'super excited' to have them on board.
Is Beth Mead married?
Beth Mead is not married. She was previously in a relationship with Danielle van de Donk - her teammate at Arsenal - until June 2021, when van de Donk was signed by Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, a French club based in Lyon.
Danielle van de Donk is a Dutch footballer, and started her career with Willem II, a club from Tilburg, in the Netherlands, and made her debut for the Dutch national team in 2010.
It's rumoured that the pair have split, though nothing has been confirmed by Mead or van de Donk.
Beth Mead career stats
- Mead has won four trophies, including the 2018/19 Women’s Super League with Arsenal
- During the same season, she broke the record for the most assists in a single-season (twelve), and more chances created than any other Arsenal player (fifty-four)
- She was in the England squad that won the 2019 SheBelieves Cup
- She also formed part of the starting 11 that made it to a World Cup semi-final in 2019
- She scored 77 goals in 78 appearances during her time at Sunderland
In July 2022, Beth Mead scored a hat-trick against Norway, helping the Lionesses to a record-breaking 8-0 victory and securing them a place in the Euro quarter-finals. Former England striker Ian Wright described Mead as a 'goal-scoring monster' in a BBC Sport post-match analysis, following the game at the Amex Stadium.
What is Beth Mead's salary?
A report by The Telegraph found Beth Mead's club, Arsenal, to be one of the most generous clubs in the Women's Super League when it comes to salary, with a handful of top players earning up to a quarter of a million pounds a year.
However, the same report found that salaries in the WSL start from as little as £20,000, with international players thought to make around £2,000 per appearance.
In a 2019 interview, Beth revealed she used to have a second job to supplement her wages, saying "I used to work in a village pub the night before I played a game just to earn a bit more money to get me there. Those experiences mould you as a footballer."
Want to know more about your favourite sports stars? We've also revealed if Owen Farrell is married.
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