Esme Morgan says Manchester City has made a huge impact on her both on and off the pitch.

It was announced earlier this week that the defender will leave the Club this summer.

Working her way through the ranks at the Joie Stadium, Morgan made her senior debut on the opening day of the 2017/18 campaign, going on to make 87 appearances and even captain the side at just 22.

Reflecting on her time at City, the England international paid tribute to the Club and how she’s been supported over the years.

“I came in as such a raw player having played grassroots football prior to that,” Morgan explained.

“The detail they gave me taught me things and made me see football in a way I never had before.

“When I moved over to the first team, they found me an amazing host family so I could have a home away from home and be as comfortable as possible away from the pitch.

“[They] supported me with my education when I was doing my A-Levels and I feel like they’ve helped me develop so much as a person and also given me the opportunities on the pitch to improve and push myself too.

“I’m really grateful for that. More recently, when I’ve felt my ambitions lie elsewhere and I need something different in my career, they put what the Club wanted to the side a little bit and really helped prioritise what I feel I need for my career.

“I’ve progressed so much over the years and that’s probably attested to me breaking into the England squad.

“It’s just been so much fun having this journey and learning from the players around me.

“I’ve played with some of the best players in the world every single day and it’s just been so much fun to learn from them and have them push me to get better.”

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A lifelong City supporter, Morgan’s passion for the Club was evident whenever she stepped across the white line for Gareth Taylor’s side.

A season ticket holder as a child having attended her first game on her third birthday, the defender says the Club will always hold a special place in her heart.

And she admits that the sight of her name on the back of fans’ shirts or on murals around Manchester are things that she will never forget.

She said: “It feels so strange. I remember the first time there was a kit announcement, and I was on the side of the Etihad, I just thought ‘wow this is crazy’.

“I drove past it every day and sometimes I’d be driving into training and I’d see it on the side of the stadium and I’d just be like ‘that’s my face up there’.

“It’s just mad. Murals when [Erling] Haaland was stealing my chips it’s just crazy! I am just a fan and I will always be such a big fan of the Club so to be alongside players who I still love watching every single week is so surreal and I don’t think it’ll ever get normal.

“Seeing fans with my name on the back it just gives me goosebumps it’s so special because I was once a fan with players’ names on the back of my shirt looking up to them.

“Having that with me on the other side of it is so special. I feel very lucky.”