Alessia Russo

Alessia Mia Teresa Russo (Italian: [aˈlɛssja ˈmiːa teˈrɛːza ˈrusso]; born 8 February 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Arsenal and the England national team. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels. After brief stints as a teenager for Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion, Russo joined Manchester United in 2020. At Manchester United, Russo won awards from the club including Player of the Year and Goal of the Season, and was twice top scorer. In 2023, she joined Arsenal on a free transfer, where during the 2024–25 season, she was top scorer of the WSL (alongside Khadija Shaw), named FWA Women's Footballer of the Year and won the UEFA Women's Champions League. Russo has represented England internationally at various youth levels, from U15 to U21, including captaining the U16 side. She made her senior debut in 2020 and scored her first goals in 2021 against Latvia, the fastest scored hat-trick in history by an England player at just 11 minutes. As a two-time Euro winner with England, Russo was awarded Goal of the Tournament and the Bronze Boot in the Euro 2022 tournament. For the 2023–24 season, she was voted England Women's Player of the Year.