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Mary Earps has revealed that she sold items on eBay 'to get by' before England's Euro triumph. Earps, who became a household name after England’s Euro 2022 triumph, admitted life wasn’t always so glamorous. The former England keeper laid bare the financial and emotional challenges faced by female footballers during an appearance on the The Peter Crouch Podcast. While there has no doubt been a rise in the potential earning power of England's female players, their salaries have been dwarfed by their male counterparts. Earps has opened up about the surprising struggles she faced while off the pitch in the pandemic - despite being signed to Manchester United. In a candid chat with her friend and former England striker Peter Crouch, the Lionesses hero, hailed by Crouch as “ the female footballer everyone knows”, spoke about the rollercoaster of her football career. “I really struggled during Covid," she confessed. "There was nothing happening and, you know, I was worried about the future. It was a tough time. I had to sell stuff on eBay to get by." Earps talked about those uncertain days with Crouch ahead of the release of her new autobiography, All In. In the book, Earps talks about her mental health decline during the first Covid lockdown as she lived alone “shovelling down biscuits instead of meals” and binge-drinking vodka. The football star admits she was "annihilating her fitness." "I don’t look back and recognise that person, who didn’t have any zest for life. I’m just grateful I found my way out because not everybody does," she said. Thankfully, within two years Earps had battled back and become the golden girl of Euro 2022, lifting the trophy with the Lionesses. A year later, the team were inspiring millions of girls to dream big again as they made it to the World Cup Final. Despite losing the match to Spain, Earps became a national treasure when she was caught passionately shouting 'F*** Off!' after saving a penalty in the second half. Earps was named keeper of the tournament, taking home the FIFA's Golden Glove award. It was also the tournament she received huge attention for a campaign to get Nike to make England Women's goalie shirts after her number was missed off the squad sales. After winning Sports Personality of the Year months later, Earps revealed she has received a commitment from Nike that the manufacturer will never again fail to make replica shirts for girls and women She went on to launch her own clothing range, MAE27, selling t-shirts with the slogans ‘be unapologetically yourself’ and ‘girls know the offside rule too’. The Peter Crouch podcast with Mary Earps will be released later this week. Mary Earps: All In: Football, Live and Learning to be Unapologetically Me by Mary Earps released 6 November (Bonnier Books, £22)
