Ellie Carpenter: 'Chelsea is the best place for me to grow'

Chelsea’s new defender Ellie Carpenter is not a run-of-the-mill athlete. Her rise to prominence is an unlikely story of grit, determination and sacrifice. Without those qualities, she never would’ve been spotted at all.

Her story begins on a farm in Cowra, a small town in New South Wales, Australia. Playing sports was her biggest passion, and in 2012 she watched the London Olympics from her home, about to embark on a journey far from everything she knew.

‘It took two hours to get anywhere near a training ground or a team,’ Carpenter explains. ‘We used to drive huge distances in the car; we made big sacrifices.

‘That’s why I moved to Sydney when I was 12 to pursue my career. It was a big adjustment to move from such a small town to a big city. I did it without looking back.

‘My family are my biggest supporters and have been throughout my career. I’m very grateful to them. There’s been a huge payoff, and I still have their support to this day on the other side of the world.’

In September 2015, Carpenter joined the Western Sydney Wanderers and performed so well that she was called up to represent Australia just two months later. It was the first of many age records that Carpenter would shatter, as she became a senior Australia international aged just 15.

By the time the next Olympics came around – Rio 2016 – she wasn’t watching on TV. She was there as the youngest ever woman to play football at the iconic event. Since then, she’s added appearances at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 to that list. Three Olympic Games by the age of 24.

‘The Olympics is so special, isn't it?’, she smiles. ‘I think it’s the most amazing sporting event there is on the planet. I remember watching it, getting up in the middle of the night to watch every sport. I used to play all different sports when I was young.

‘My first Olympics was a dream come true. I was so grateful to be there. Then I learned something new in each subsequent Olympics. It’s so different because you can meet other athletes from different countries and everyone comes together for this two-week sporting event every four years. It's been quite a journey.’

By the time Carpenter had turned 18, she had branched out even further, earning a move to the NWSL with Portland Thorns and her first-ever professional contract. Playing in a league that she describes as ‘transitional and aggressive’ helped her to develop, earning her the move to Europe with Lyon that she so desperately wanted.

In her maiden season, she became the first Australian to win the Women’s Champions League. In 2022, she lifted the trophy again, this time under the tutelage of current Blues boss Sonia Bompastor. Yet on neither occasion did she manage to finish 90 minutes in the final, a factor that motivates her to rekindle her link with her former coach and win together once more.

‘I worked with Sonia for two years at Lyon, and I like the way she coaches,' continues Carpenter. ‘She's been a player, so she gets it. She brings that winning mentality, it’s in her DNA. She's straightforward, very direct and I think as a coach, you have to be sometimes. That's how you get the best out of people.

‘Sonia knows how to win the Champions League both as a player and a coach. Chelsea have the team and the squad to win it and hopefully, I can come in and help the team and deliver that trophy.

‘Something inside me wants to finish a final. I need to get there first, but it motivates me, it’s a goal that I want to reach. Here at Chelsea, I hope to achieve it because I have unfinished business with the Champions League.

‘I think you can see here at Chelsea the ambition is to win the Champions League and to invest in women's football. There's so much that goes into that over the whole season. It's not just one training session or one game and I know how that works because I've seen it firsthand.’

After five years at Lyon, Carpenter is ready for a new start at Chelsea.

The reasons span beyond this side’s winning history as – like when she first left Australia – she seeks to be challenged at the very highest level once again.

‘It’s a very proud feeling to join Chelsea. I think the timing just felt right,’ says Carpenter. 'I'm 25, in the middle of my career and I feel like I'm ready for a new challenge. England, for me, is the best league in Europe and I want to test myself against the best every week.

‘I want to learn from the girls here and push myself, and I think this is the best place for me to grow as a footballer and be the best version of Ellie. I know the expectation is to win here, but I think having pressure is great and winning trophies was one of the main reasons I wanted to join the club.

‘Sam Kerr always talks about Chelsea and how much she loves it here, so I knew this was a great club with a great environment. I also have some close friends here who played with me at Lyon - Catarina (Macario) and Kadeisha (Buchanan). I'm excited to meet everyone and be a part of such a great culture within the group.’

As we chat inside Stamford Bridge, the defender looks around at the empty stands. She’s played here before, when the Blues beat Lyon on penalties in the Champions League quarter-final, but it’s going to be very different for her now she wears blue.

Before we finish, she has a message that she wants to deliver to the fans that will be cheering her on.

‘It's a beautiful stadium,' she remarks. ‘I had one memory here which wasn’t so good, but now I want to make good memories here. The fans were electrifying. I'm very excited to play in front of the fans and entertain them.

‘I'm excited to meet you all. I'm very proud and honoured to be a part of your club and I promise I'll give everything on the pitch.’

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