Lionesses star Alex Greenwood’s footballer boyfriend Jack O’Connell saw his own career wrecked by injury, having once been in the thoughts of England manager Gareth Southgate
The boyfriend of England women’s star Alex Greenwood was on the verge of international honours himself before injury cruelly cut short his career. Greenwood is a Lionesses legend after being part of the squad that memorably won Euro 2022 and one of the players of the tournament at the 2023 World Cup as England reached the final, where they were beaten by Spain.
The Merseyside-born defender has been in a relationship with Jack O’Connell since the pair met at sixth-form college. Both went on to become footballers, with O’Connell coming through the Blackburn Rovers academy and having a string of loan spells in the lower leagues. The centre-back joined Brentford permanently in 2015, but his stay in west London was brief.
It was at Sheffield United where he truly made his name, helping the Blades soar from League One to the Premier League. His form was so impressive that then-England boss Gareth Southgate held discussions with Blades manager Chris Wilder after an impressive debut season in the top-flight.
However, his career was ruined by injury and after several attempted comebacks, he made the heartbreaking decision to call time on his career at the age of just 29 in 2023. In an emotional message on social media, he wrote: “This is a very difficult announcement for me to make, although Sheffield United fans will already know that for the past three seasons, I have been fighting to save my professional football career.
“Today, I am announcing my retirement from football. I have put my heart and soul into this recovery since my knee problems began in June 2020, but this is a battle I cannot win.”
He also paid tribute to his partner Greenwood, adding: “Walking away from football will leave a void in my life – but I have made my peace with it. And I am grateful for the matches I played, the moments I lived out on the pitch, and to my team-mates – many of whom will be friends for life. It was all a dream come true.
“For now, some thanks. First, to partner Alex, who has given me support through my lowest moments. She is a supremely talented footballer and it has been a great consolation to be able to watch her career go from strength to strength. I am her biggest fan.”
O’Connor, now 31, travelled to Australia to support his partner and the Lionesses at the World Cup. He told Sky Sports at the time: “[I’m] really proud of her. I’ve been there from the very start. I used to go and watch Alex when she was 16. It’s unbelievable how far it’s grown now.
“I’m her biggest critic as well. The standard that she sets herself, she has more to come. I get goosebumps when I think about it but I think she’s one of the best centre-halves in the world and she still has gears to go through.”
O’Connell, regarded as a modern Blades legend, didn’t get a chance to say a proper goodbye as his final game was played behind closed doors during the pandemic. However, he recently made a one-game comeback in honour of another Blades favourite forced into retirement by injury when he took part in Chris Basham’s testimonial in front of 17,000 fans at Bramall Lane.
Ahead of the game, Basham paid tribute to O’Connell. He told the Sheffield Star: “I think it will be nice for him to go back and get that feeling, and show gratitude from his point of view as well.
“It’s hard at the time, because you’re leaving the game and your emotions are also a little higher. Then, once things have settled down, you realise what you’ve done and what you’ve done for the club. It means much more now, seeing flashbacks and things like that.”
O’Connell will be looking forward to cheering on Greenwood at Euro 2025 in Switzerland this summer. Before then, the Lionesses round off their Nations League group schedule with games against Portugal at home and Spain away on May 30 and June 3 respectively.
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