Ruesha Littlejohn says Hannah Hampton was a ‘difficult’ teammate following comments from Mary Earps | OneFootball

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Ruesha Littlejohn has claimed that former teammate Hannah Hampton could be a ‘pain in the a***’ following comments from Mary Earps in her new autobiography.

Hampton and Littlejohn both played for Aston Villa between 2021 and 2023.

Republic of Ireland international Littlejohn currently plays for Women’s Super League 2 side Crystal Palace.

Hampton has enjoyed an incredible 2025 thanks to her domestic success with Chelsea and helping England to defend their European Championship trophy at Euro 2025.

However, there has been a media furore surrounding Hampton and Earps in recent days, with Earps insisting her comments were not about “heroes and villains”.

This comes after Earps criticised episodes of ‘bad behaviour’ of her England successor.

What has Ruesha Littlejohn said about Hannah Hampton?

Ruesha Littlejohn addressed Mary Earps’ comments about Hannah Hampton on ‘The Ruesha and Shebahn Show”.

“I’m not going to jump in and start picking sides. It is Mary Earps’ book, I don’t know Mary, it is her book and her version of events,” Littlejohn said.

“If you have been around Hannah before, you know exactly what Hannah was like, because I can’t say what she’s like now.

“So she was maybe difficult, disruptive, however you want to word it. Hannah’s probably not been in the past a great teammate to always be around.”

Littlejohn went on to praise Hampton’s ability as a goalkeeper, but as a teammate, she could be a “pain in the a***”.

She said: “Hannah had the ability, 100 per cent,  what a player. She’s a great player with a bright future and one of the best goalkeepers in women’s and arguably men’s football, with her distribution, which is second to none.

“When you talk about her as a teammate, is she a pain in the a***? 100 per cent a pain in the a***. Has she grown and got better? Sonia Bompastor seems to think she has, so I’m not in the f***ing Chelsea team, I don’t know that now.”

Littlejohn says Earps’ version of events is ‘true’

On the Ruesha and Shebahn show, Littlejohn also said that Earps has decided to “strike while the iron is hot” in terms of the timing of her autobiography.

“I think Mary’s version is quite true. Now people are coming out and saying Mary is bitter. I guess she always knew that would happen, and the argument is she could have waited until she retired, or she could strike while the iron is hot.

“Was she going to sell as many books later (after retirement)? She’s a businesswoman, so I think in the business sense of things, she said, “I will do it now”.

“All of your superstars, great players, seem to have a bit of an attitude problem or a bit arrogant. They also have that in themselves as they know they can make a difference.”

What did Earps say about Hampton?

In extracts from her new autobiography ‘All In’ published by the Guardian, Earps criticised Hampton’s ‘bad behaviour’.

Although she did not go into full detail, Earps wrote: “Her behaviour behind the scenes at the Euros had frequently risked derailing training sessions and team resources.”

Earps also criticised Sarina Wiegman’s decision to bring Hampton back into the England squad, saying that it made her feel uncomfortable.

The Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper said she felt Hampton’s return to the squad “rewarded certain behaviour”, and that was compounded when Hampton was selected to play ahead of her in April 2024.

It was at this point she began to consider international retirement, something she confirmed ahead of Euro 2025 after Wiegman said Hampton would be her first-choice goalkeeper.

Chelsea boss Bompastor has defended Hampton, insisting the comments from Earps were not acceptable.