Trophies, tattoos, and Alan Shearer – Georgia Stanway’s collections keep growing

The awards are stacking up for England superstar Georgia Stanway – but she’s not resting on her laurels.

Now a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) the Bayern Munich midfielder has been a lynchpin for the Lionesses.

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Raised in the WSL, she’s reached new heights in the Frauen-Bundesliga and came back from injury to help secure England a second consecutive European Championship.

Winning may be a familiar feeling but Stanway insists she’s hungry for more.

“I don’t think it will ever set in,” she told talkSPORT at the launch of Topps’ 2024/25 Chrome UEFA Women’s Champions League set.

“I think women’s football is just growing incredibly. It’s unbelievable to see the heights that we’re getting to.

“I think in terms of being able to process things and being able to decompress from the summer that we had, I think it will happen in retirement.

“Football moves too fast. There’s always something else around the corner. There’s always a new challenge or a trophy that you want to get your hands on.

“I think it’s only until after your career that you can really process exactly what happened.”

And more glory means more tattoos for her and her teammates as Stanway’s second career comes to life.

The 26-year-old picked up the needle in Munich and now she’s got a high-profile list of clients with comedian Maisie Adams now inked – with more to come.

“I gave Beth Mead one,” she said. “She obviously won the Champions League and already had home, so I put the stars above the home. Kiera Walsh has got one [too].

“I’m sure a lot of [teammates] will come. Well, a lot of them might not choose to come forward, but I’ll be chasing them down.

“It’s really cool that I can do it. It’s something that got me through my injury and it kind of kept me in a good headspace knowing that the Euros was a little bit of a hit and miss for me.

“It was kind of like a good way of leaving the football behind, focusing on something different, and I’ve got a new hobby out of the end of it.”

Stanway is out of contract at the end of the current season, which could see her win a fourth consecutive title in Bavaria.

And she believes her positive outlook on life has given her an incredible platform to perform.

“I love Bayern. I love the team. I love the environment. I love the city.
It kind of worked out perfectly in a way for me,” she said.

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“I arrived and we had an English-speaking coach and we signed lots of internationals, so everything was English-speaking.

“In terms of me on the pitch, I was kind of able to knuckle down in a position, get some consistency in that midfield. I think that’s kind of developed me both as a player and as a person.

“I think as a player, I was able to, like I said, get consistency in my performance, being able to knuckle down on the things that are needed within that position. I’ve got a role at Bayern which takes a lot of responsibility, which I really like.

“Then I think off the pitch as well, moving to a different country, you just have to fully immerse yourself. You just have to say yes to everything, but also be comfortable with spending time on your own.”

And it helps having some familiar faces – and accents around too.

She added: “I’m close with [men’s team manager Vincent] Kompany and his wife, so they often invite us to games and allow us to access their box, which is super nice.

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“It’s also nice to have a familiar face because she’s from Manchester, so it’s nice to talk about the north of England together.”

Stanway is one of the faces of the women’s game and, as such, she’s front and centre of sticker albums and trading cards like Topps’ 2024/25 Chrome UEFA Women’s Champions League set.

“It’s so cool that we’ve got to this point and been opening packs and having a bit of fun with that. It’s very exciting,” she told talkSPORT.

She added: “It’s also cool when you’re opening them and you find yourself. It’s like a very surreal moment.

“We quite often get cards from fans, which is super nice. When fans have got too many, they often give us them.”

Now collecting winners’ medals, it’s unsurprising she was also a collector as a child.

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“I was obsessed,” she laughed. “I was always collecting the cards. I have a nice little story actually. I would always collect off, try and find the Alan Shearer shiny.

“So yeah, whenever I was coming through primary school, I would try and get him every single year. And once I’d found him, then I could kind of stop collecting.

“There were always swaps going on in the playground until they probably got banned at some point but, yeah, as soon as I got the Alan Shearer shiny, then I was complete.”

So, why Shearer for the star born in Barrow-in-Furness?

“He was my Nana’s favourite player,” she added. “So every time I would collect the shiny, I’d give it to my Nana and she’d collect them. I think she had like five or six at the time. And then just before she passed away, she gave me them all back.

“So yeah, it was quite like a wholesome moment. And then I took the cards actually away with me on my first England camp as a bit of a good luck charm.

“So yeah, it’s sentimental. I’ve still got my cards. I’ve still got all of the Alan Shearer collectibles that I collected. They’re still at home.”