I used to do shifts pulling pints in a country pub to pay for football boots.. now I’m an Arsenal and England star

BEFORE she cemented her status as an England legend, Lioness Beth Mead pulled pints at her local pub so that she could buy some football boots.

The 28-year-old wrote her name in the history books last summer when she led England to Euro 2022 glory, picking up the Golden Boot and the Player of the Tournament award in the process.

But before she became a national hero, Mead worked a part-time job at the Fox and Hounds pub in Staithes, near Whitby.

Last year, she told : "I used to work Friday, Saturday. Sunday was double time behind the bar.

"I was a waitress part time just to afford the boots.

"I enjoyed working there and I got my boots in the end."

Mead kicked off her career at Sunderland in 2011 and quickly became one of the club's best players.

She joined Arsenal in 2017 and has been with the Gunners ever since.

Over the past year, Mead has enjoyed the highest of highs, but she has also endured awful lows.

The winger was named BBC's Sports Personality of the Year in December following England's historic European Championship victory.

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She was also the 2022 Ballon d'Or runner-up.

However, in January, Mead's mother, June, tragically passed away following a battle with ovarian cancer.

Speaking to last month, Mead said: "When my mum was still alive, I had very bad moments of wanting to give up football and she picked me up and made me go on.

"Obviously I lost that person, but then I had such an amazing group of people, friends, teammates, family around me that helped me get through."

Unfortunately, the winger is set to miss this year's Women's World Cup due to an ACL injury.

She suffered the setback during a match against Manchester United in November last year, and although she has returned to light training, she was not deemed fit enough by Sarina Wiegman in May.