Leah Williamson, the leader of the England women’s soccer team, has signed a big deal with Gucci, an Italian fashion brand.
A target for major corporations, who want her to promote their goods and turn into an influencer, is the attractive defender who aims to lead the Lionesses to victory in the current Euros competition.
But Gucci snatched her up earlier this year, when she was spotted at the Brit Awards wearing its clothes while out with BBC broadcaster Alex Scott. The new England captain is close friends with the former international.
The 25-year-old Miss Williamson, who has endorsement deals with Pepsi and Nike in addition to her contract with Arsenal, is allegedly worth £4 million. She attended the event in a £3,500 green satin pant suit and carried the brand’s £2,220 bamboo 1947 mini top handle bag. She later shared photos of herself wearing the outfit with her 353,000 followers on the social media platform Instagram.
In one picture she posed with Miss Scott, who was wearing a daring black dress. Miss Williamson has credited Miss Scott, who presents the BBC’s Euros coverage, with helping her ‘to develop both personally and professionally’ and added: ‘I’m forever grateful for her support and guidance.’
In May, the England captain was a special guest at Gucci’s Cosmogonie catwalk show at the Castel Del Monte in Puglia, where she met celebs such as Normal People actor Paul Mescal and singer Lana Del Rey.
Miss Williamson donned a pair of £840 yellow satin shoes from Gucci when she attended the fashion show and sat in the first row.
One football insider said: ‘Leah is extremely marketable. She is super-glam and has already caught the eye of Gucci, who see tremendous value in her.
‘There are other big fashion houses looking at her. She is going to earn an absolute fortune.’
She claims to being a fashionista off the field and particularly like Issey Miyake men’s trousers and the fashion house Prada, while wearing her blonde hair in a ponytail when wearing the England kit.
Steph Houghton served as the England team’s captain for eight years until Miss Williamson took over.
Last month Leah met Prince William when he went to meet the Lionesses at the St George’s Park training ground. She revealed that the future King took some shots and placed one ‘nicely in the bottom corner’. He also told Miss Williamson that his daughter Charlotte is ‘really good in goal’.
Miss Williamson, who was born and raised in Milton Keynes, is a part-time student of accountancy but is expected to work in television in the future.
As one of the ambassadors for Swarovski’s 2019 #FollowTheLight campaign, a celebration of inspirational women, she has also been featured in Vogue and Elle magazines.
The second game of the group stages is tomorrow’s match between England and Norway at Brighton and Hove Community Stadium. They defeated Austria 1-0 in the tournament opener at Old Trafford and are among the favourites to win the game.