The Netherlands midfielder, once Manchester City’s record signing, talks about rejoining the club in her heart, FC Twente, and the upcoming Euros
F
or Jill Roord, even after winning the Bundesliga title and getting to a Champions League final, eight years on from saying goodbye to FC Twente, there is simply no place like home. The 107-time capped Netherlands midfielder is this summer returning to the club where she began her career and, in an exclusive interview with the Guardian, she explains why the opportunity to move back closer to her family and friends was irresistible.
“It had nothing to do with City. My time with City was really good,” says Roord, as she explains her decision to leave the club after two years. “I have been away for eight years playing abroad and it becomes tough being alone for that many years. In the past few years I lost my fun and my happiness in football a little bit because of being away, travelling a lot and not being able to be with family and friends, and with busy summers every year I never really got a break. I just felt like now I needed to move back home, enjoy life and enjoy football again, so that’s the main reason.”
The former Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Wolfsburg player was Manchester City’s club-record signing when she arrived for a reported fee in the region of £300,000 and she started in outstanding form before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury. “City is such a big and fantastic club, the whole environment of the club was really nice, it’s really nice to train there with all the facilities,” she said. “The league is amazing. In my first season [we were] unlucky that we didn’t win it.
