18:00, 20 Dec 2025<\/p>\n
![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_Fulham-v-Crystal-Palace-Emirates-FA-Cup-Quarter-Final.jpg\")
Karen Carney is a popular fixture on TV(Image: Photo by Visionhaus\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Karen Carney has revealed she harbours no resentment over the modest earnings from her playing career, despite missing out on the Lionesses’ recent wave of success.<\/a><\/p>\n The former Arsenal midfielder is currently battling for the glitterball trophy on Strictly Come Dancing, <\/a>with Saturday’s final fast approaching. Prior to establishing herself as a respected football<\/a> pundit, Carney enjoyed a distinguished playing career spanning more than a decade at both club and international level.<\/p>\n She earned 144 caps for England, <\/a>netting 33 goals and securing a third-place finish at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, whilst also reaching the final of the 2009 UEFA Women’s Championship.<\/p>\n Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package<\/p>\n This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/a> \u00a349<\/p>\n \u00a335<\/p>\n Sky<\/p>\n Get Sky Sports here<\/a><\/p>\n Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports<\/a> bundle for the 2025\/26 season, saving members \u00a3336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.<\/p>\n Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games this season, an increase of up to 100 more.<\/p>\n Carney claimed three Cyprus Cups and one SheBelieves trophy with the national side, though the bulk of her silverware arrived at club level.<\/p>\n Three league titles with Arsenal, alongside numerous domestic cup triumphs in north London and later at Chelsea<\/a>, highlighted an outstanding career for the former midfielder.<\/p>\n Yet financial rewards proved far more elusive for Carney, though she holds no bitterness about it.<\/p>\n In a 2019 interview with The Times, the now 38 year old reflected that she accomplished everything she set out to achieve. Carney said: “I never had any expectations.”<\/p>\n “When I was 11, I just wanted to play for England. I didn’t know when it would happen, how it would happen. I picked that dream and I wanted that dream.<\/p>\n “I am who I am. I’m from Birmingham. My mum works at Sainsbury’s. My dad is a firefighter. We keep it real. We know who we are. I haven’t made a lot of money but I’m equally comfortable.<\/p>\n “I have food, clothes on my back and my family. I’ll never be bitter. I don’t need a Bentley. I don’t need a Rolex. I’ve lived my dream, I’ve got my family and that’s all I need.”<\/p>\n Speaking about her impact on the younger Lionesses at the time, Carney said: “I just aim to play as if it was five-a-side as an 11-year-old kid. That’s how I see it because that’s how it is.<\/p>\n “That’s what I try to tell the youngsters. ‘It’s your dream – don’t fear it.’ I don’t say what I feel – I say what was said to me because my senior professionals were amazing.”<\/p>\n Most of Carney’s financial success has come from her post-football career, where she has worked in various broadcasting roles, most notably with TNT Sports and ITV.<\/p>\n The former Arsenal player covers a range of major competitions, including the Premier League<\/a>, UEFA Champions League<\/a> and international tournaments such as the World Cup and Euros.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former England Lioness Karen Carney, who is competing in this weekend’s Strictly Come Dancing final, previously opened up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644791,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[748,393,4884,25180,1888,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-644790","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-karen-carney","12":"tag-strictly-come-dancing","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115753597738630956","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Content](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744537215_662_0_Sky-Factbox.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"MANCHESTER,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_Manchester-City-v-Tottenham-Hotspur-Premier-League.jpg\")
Karen Carney has been on Strictly Come Dancing(Image: Photo by James Gill – Danehouse\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n