England international Alex Greenwood wants to “let football do the talking” and move on from the negative social media abuse she now insists fuels her.
The 27-year-old Manchester City defender has opened up previously about abuse she has received on social media, stemming from criticism during the Women’s World Cup in France in 2019.
“I feel like I’ve spoken about this (social media abuse) so much recently,” Greenwood told the PA news agency.
“I feel like I’ve got to the point now where I’m just like ‘let the football do the talking’ and I feel like I’ve said what I needed to say on the point and it’s never going to completely stop. ”
Greenwood is closing in on 50 international caps for the Lionesses with three senior goals and has played for a number of Women’s Super League clubs, including crossing the Merseyside and Manchester divide, while also representing decorated Lyon.
However, like many other footballers, she has been on the receiving end of targeted abuse through social media, but Greenwood wants to move on from the negativity.
“It’s something that’s always there, but I can channel it a lot differently to how I could maybe four or five months ago,” she said.
“I probably look at the positive ones more than the negative ones now and they’re fuel for me anyway.
“So difficult of course – not going to lie about it, in the past it was difficult at times, more for my family than anything – but now I just take it with a pinch of salt.”
While in France, Greenwood was part of a successful Lyon team which lifted their fifth consecutive European Champions League title, as they matched Real Madrid’s record for successive European Cups.
Now at Manchester City, Greenwood is enjoying her role as one of the more experienced members and believes her time abroad with Lyon has made her a stronger player.
“To be truthfully honest, at the beginning it wasn’t easy to move away from home, to go to a different country, different culture, different language, wasn’t easy at first, it took me about four or five months to settle,” she said.
“Once I did and I picked up the language a little bit, picked up how they worked and stuff I absolutely loved it, it was the best experience I’ve had in football.
“I’m not going to sit here and say it was all roses because it wasn’t, as well as winning trophies it came with some difficult times, but when you’re playing for a club like Lyon you’re only going to improve.
“I focused entirely on football and what it was doing for me and I feel like I came back as a better person and as a better all-round player.”
