Republic of Ireland boss Carla Ward has shared her bewilderment at Arsenal's decision to let Katie McCabe go, and suggested if the Dubliner was English she would be in the conversation to win this year's Ballon d'Or Feminin.
McCabe said an emotional goodbye to Gunners fans after their 3-1 win against Liverpool at Anfield last weekend. Her next move is not yet known, but the 30-year-old has plenty of suitors, WSL champions Manchester City rumoured to be among them.
Ward has previously labelled McCabe the best left-back in the world. Now she's doubled down on that assertion, questioning why her captain does not get more acclaim. The official shortlist for the Ballon d'Or is expected to be announced in August.
"I hope we don't speak out of turn by saying this, but if Katie was English, I think everybody would be saying right now she should be in Ballon d'Or conversations," said Ward.
"It blows my mind that she's not. She's the best left-back in the world. I would question, is there any better full-back in the world right now? I'm not sure there is. I think any club not wanting Katie is bonkers."
Katie McCabe
Katie McCabe celebrates her goal against France in March
When it was put to her that Arsenal are perhaps moving McCabe on because of her age, Ward said: "She's absolutely in her peak. If you remember when I came in, I think the first couple of press conferences I was asked, 'how do you get the best out of Katie? We haven't maybe seen the best out of Katie for a while'.
"I would argue - and I'm not saying this is down to me by the way - but I would argue the last four camps is the best we've ever seen Katie in an Ireland shirt and an Arsenal shirt. So she's got to be in her peak. Katie trains like she's a 21-year-old hungry for success. That's just Katie."
McCabe first broke through at Raheny United when she was 16, and made her senior Ireland debut 11 years ago under Sue Ronan.
She is Ireland's marquee name, shouldering the pressures and responsibilities that come with having such a high profile, but Ward has no fears she'll burn out, suggesting the Tallaght native could end her career at centre-back.
"She is such a pro and she conditions herself in such a way that she will have a lot more years in her.
"The problem you have now is you haven't got managers signing players as such... you have recruitment people in the club who look at numbers. They don’t look at clips, they look at data.
"So then they go age profile, and say the age profile isn’t what we want, instead of the best performing player in that position in the world right now, it is mad. I have seen it at a club, I won’t say where, that have wasted absolute bonkers amount of money because of what the data suggested. The human side is lost."
Ward covered a lot in a sitdown with the press after naming her squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against the Netherlands and France.
She's been busy, completing her UEFA Pro License and planning talks with director of football John Martin and head of women & girls' football Lizzie Kent about the long-mooted establishment of an Ireland side to bridge the gap between the Under-19s and seniors. "Not sure that it will be U23s, but it will be something that can broaden our options, so to speak," she said.
Ruesha Littlejohn with head coach Carla Ward
Ruesha Littlejohn in training with Carla Ward
Ward also staunchly defended the inclusion of Ruesha Littlejohn in her latest squad.
Yesterday, the midfielder was released from recently crowned WSL2 champions Crystal Palace after a difficult campaign.
In early December, the 35-year-old was given a five-match ban after being sent off for for grabbing Leicester's Hannah Cain in a headlock and wrestling her to the ground. Upon the completion of that suspension, she rarely featured for Eagles, but has been named in all three of Ward's squads throughout this World Cup qualification campaign.
"Ruesha is an unbelievable pro," the head coach stressed. "Look at Séamus Coleman. Over the past 18 months, did he play less than 60 minutes of club football or something mad like that? (Coleman had made one brief 2025/26 Premier League appearance off the bench for Everton and played a total of 168 minutes across two Carabao Cup matches before Heimir Hallgrimsson recalled him for the Portugal-Armenia games last October).
"My point is that the likes of Ruesha and Séamus look after themselves. They drive dressing-rooms, they lead in a way and they raise standards. When I’m not in the room I know that Ruesha is raising standards so there’s a lot of elements as to why Ruesha is included.
"She is still so important that I don’t want her to retire. I want her to continue for another year because she’s got a lot to offer.
"I would love people to see Ruesha’s impact in our environment and they would go ‘wow, she’s in’. She does a lot on and off the pitch.
"My hope is that she stays and gets a club for another year because she’ll be critical for us. That’s Ruesha’s decision and she doesn’t know what that decision looks like yet."
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