When Morocco star striker Rosella Ayane was released by Chelsea in 2016, having grown up at the London club, she feared there was nothing left for her in football.
Seven years later, the versatile 27-year-old forward has become an important player for Tottenham Hotspur in the FA WSL, and is primed to play a crucial role for Morocco at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this month.
After she was released by Chelsea, Ayane was out of the game for a year and subsequently moved to Cyprus with Apollon Limassol. At that time, it would have been difficult to believe that she could ever reach the highest level again.
Ayane, who was born in Reading, England, told ESPN: “I don’t think it was necessarily outside pressures [that caused problems at Chelsea]. I was young and looking back on it, I had a lot to learn and I had to really sit back and reflect on myself and my character – everything that I want in football – and that’s something that I did.
“I think getting released from Chelsea is one of the best things that happened because you had to take a good hard look at yourself.”
