London (AFP) – England women’s international Eni Aluko, who accused former national football coach Mark Sampson of discrimination, is to leave double winners Chelsea Ladies at the end of the season.
The striker helped the Blues land this season’s Women’s FA Cup and Women’s Super League titles but the 31-year-old has not been a consistent starter recently.
Aluko wrote on Twitter: “Another League & FA Cup double. 2015 was a dream come true to do it again I’m beyond words. After 5 yrs & 150+ appearances it’s with a heavy heart I confirm I’ll be leaving @ChelseaFC I couldn’t dream of a better ending. To my teammates who I adore, the club and fans THANKYOU”
She was linked in January with a possible move to Paris Saint-Germain’s women’s team.
Aluko has won 102 caps for England, scoring 33 goals, but has not played for the national team since April 2016.
She made misconduct allegations against former Lionesses boss Sampson, which resulted in scrutiny of his behaviour and the Football Association’s handling of the complaints.
That episode concluded last October when a third investigation found Sampson had made racially discriminatory remarks to Aluko and fellow player Drew Spence in what were “ill-judged attempts at humour”.
Aluko was paid a settlement by the Football Association before England’s Euro 2017 campaign but the qualified lawyer has said she would be open to resuming her England career.
