Chloe Kelly

Chloe Maggie Kelly (born 15 January 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the England national team. Kelly started her senior career at Arsenal, prior to going on loan to Everton, and joining the team permanently in 2018. With Manchester City, she is a 2019–20 FA Cup and 2021–22 League Cup winner, has twice been named in the PFA WSL Team of the Year, and was the joint top assist provider in the 2020–21 WSL season.

Kelly represented England from U17 to U20 levels, before making her senior debut in 2018. She represented England in Euro 2022, where as a substitute she scored the winning goal in the final. Kelly was awarded the Golden Boot in the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup, scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out at the 2023 Women's Finalissima, and is a 2023 World Cup runner-up with England.

Early life
Kelly was born on 15 January 1998 to Jane and Noel Kelly, a machinery engineer, and was raised in the West London district of Hanwell. She was the youngest of seven siblings. She began playing football at a young age with her five brothers. She often played in football cages in Windmill Park in Ealing, which she credits with making her the player she became. As part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign, a plaque honouring Kelly was installed at the cages in 2022. Before joining Arsenal's Centre of Excellence, she played for Queens Park Rangers. She travelled two hours round trip by train as a young teenager to train with Arsenal. Her footballing idol when she was growing up was Bobby Zamora, once also a Queens Park Rangers player.

Arsenal
On 23 July 2015, aged 17, Kelly made her full debut for the Arsenal first team in the Continental Cup against Watford, scoring her first goal just 22 minutes into the match. She made her second appearance for the club during a 2–1 win over Notts County, subbing in for Rachel Yankey in the 54th minute.

In February 2016, Kelly signed her first senior contract. She made one appearance in the team's 5–1 win over Sunderland on 25 June, before being loaned to FA WSL 2 side Everton.

After returning to Arsenal in October of the same year, she made three more appearances for Arsenal during the 2016 FA WSL season. The team finished the regular season in third place with a 10–4–2 record. Arsenal also won the 2016 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. Though Kelly was in the squad, she did not play during the team's 1–0 win over Chelsea.

In February 2017, Kelly signed a new contract with Arsenal. She made seven appearances for the club and scored two goals before being loaned to Everton in July.

Everton (loan)
In June 2016, Kelly joined FA WSL 2 side Everton on a three-month loan in order to gain additional first team experience;. She made nine starts for the Toffees, and scored two goals.

In July 2017, Kelly returned to newly-promoted FA WSL 1 Everton for a second loan spell. Kelly made four appearances for Everton and scored two goals in the remaining months of 2017.

In the WSL Cup, Kelly scored her first senior hat-trick on 16 November 2017 in a 4–0 victory against Oxford United.

Everton
In January 2018, Kelly made a permanent transfer to Everton on contract through summer 2020, alongside Arsenal teammate Taylor Hinds. She made a total of 15 appearances for Everton during the 2017–18 FA WSL season and scored two goals. Everton finished in ninth place with a record. During the 2018-19 FA WSL season, Kelly made eleven appearances and scored a goal during the team's 3–3 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion despite playing on an ankle injury throughout the season. Everton finished in 10th place.

After having ankle surgery, 2019 marked a turning point for Kelly's career. She scored nine goals in 12 games for Everton during the 2019–20 FA WSL season helping the club climb the table to sixth place. She was the fourth-highest scorer in the league and the top goalscorer for Everton. During the team's second game of the season, Kelly scored a brace lifting Everton to a 2–0 win. Her second goal of the match – a long-range goal – went viral. Kelly was named the league's Player of the Month for September and was shortlisted for October’s award. Kelly's performance during the early part of the season earned her a call-up to the national team camp. In January 2020, Kelly scored a hat trick against Reading lifting Everton to a 3–1 win. It was the first hat-trick by an Everton player since 2013.

In June 2020, Kelly left Everton after rejecting a new contract.

Manchester City
On 3 July 2020, it was announced Kelly had signed a two-year contract with Manchester City. In September 2020, she was named to the PFA WSL Team of the Year. On 4 October, she scored a brace against Tottenham Hotspur lifting the team to a 4–1 win. During the team's 3–1 loss to Chelsea a few days later, she converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute for Manchester City's lone goal of the match. In her debut season, she produced 16 goals and 14 assists.

On 2 May 2021, Kelly suffered an ACL injury in the game against Birmingham City after scoring two goals in the first half. She contributed ten goals and eleven assists during the season before her injury.

On 10 February 2022, she signed a three-year contract extension with the club. Kelly scored two goals in the 4-3 victory over Liverpool in the 2023–24 Conti Cup.

International career
Kelly has represented England on the senior national team as well as numerous youth national teams, including the under-17 and under-20 squads.

Youth
In 2014, Kelly competed at the 2014 UEFA Under-17 Championship in England, coming fourth, and the 2015 UEFA Under-17 Championship in Iceland, exiting in the group stage. In November 2015, she scored an equaliser against Italy to earn a draw for the under-19 team.

In August 2018, Kelly was part of the England U20 squad that claimed bronze at the 2018 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Senior
Kelly made her senior national team debut in November 2018, coming in as a substitute in a 3–0 friendly win over Austria in Vienna.

After coming back from an 11-month ACL recovery, Kelly scored her first goal for England on 16 June 2022, putting England on the scoresheet in the 62nd minute of the 3–0 victory over Belgium.

2022 Euro

Kelly was named in the England squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2022, which England was hosting, in June 2022. On 31 July 2022, Kelly came off the bench to score the winning goal in the 110th minute of the Women's Euro 2022 final match against Germany, securing the win for England in extra time. Once she was confirmed onside, she celebrated by removing her shirt and swinging it around her head, revealing a sports bra and receiving a yellow card as a result. She was later praised as uniting and empowering women. Kelly's celebration emulated American defender Brandi Chastain, who had also celebrated a major championship-deciding goal for a host nation by removing her jersey which revealed her sports bra, and had also been celebrated as a symbol of women's empowerment – in Chastain's case, after she scored the winning penalty for the United States against China in the 1999 Women's World Cup final at the Rose Bowl. Chastain congratulated her and said it put "a big smile on my face" later swapping shirts with Kelly after England's friendly against the United States at Wembley that October.

2023

In the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup, Kelly scored three goals in three games, making her Golden Boot winner of the tournament.

At the 2023 Finalissima final, Kelly stepped up in the penalty shootout against Brazil and successfully made it 4–2, giving England their first Finalissima victory.

On 31 May 2023, Kelly was named to the squad for the 2023 FIFA World Cup in July 2023. She scored in England's 6–1 defeat of China. Kelly also scored England’s winning penalty in the Round of 16 shootout against Nigeria. The speed of her kick was measured at 69 mph, faster than any goal scored in the Premier League in the 2022–23 season.

Personal life
Kelly is engaged to her long-term boyfriend, Scott Moore.

International

 * Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kelly goal.

Honours
Manchester City
 * Women's FA Cup: 2019–20
 * FA Women's League Cup: 2021–22

England U20
 * FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup third place: 2018

England


 * FIFA Women's World Cup runner-up: 2023
 * UEFA Women's Championship: 2022
 * Women's Finalissima: 2023
 * Arnold Clark Cup: 2023

Individual
 * FA WSL PFA Team of the Year: 2019–20, 2020–21
 * FA WSL Player of the Month: September 2019, April 2023
 * FA WSL Top Assist Provider: 2020–21
 * Arnold Clark Cup Golden Boot: 2023
 * Freedom of the City of London (announced 1 August 2022)