Ella Toone: Lionesses and Man Utd midfielder on grief, football and her wedding

Toone says she wouldn’t have gotten through the last few years without her fiancé, Joe Bunney, who was a “rock” to her family and was also dealing with her own grief for a man Toone describes as her “best friend.”

The pair were so close that when the former Rochdale player’s career ends in 2025, Bunney took on Nick’s dream of setting up a football academy for girls.

Bunney, who played for various lower league clubs after his career at Bolton Wanderers was derailed by an injury in a car crash in 2019, said: “Ella and her dad said ‘let’s start an academy’.

“I was nearing the end of my career, I had a little more time, and I said, ‘I’m going to put all my eggs in this basket and try to build something.'”

They set up the ET7 Academy, where Toone says “standards tend to go through the roof” when he comes to watch.

Bunney adds: “Nick absolutely loved seeing these young girls come and play football. It was like he was living Ella’s life all over again.” “This is where my passion comes from.”

Toone is “really proud” of his fiancée and says he “sacrificed a lot.”

“Although it was very stressful, the academy brought us together,” he adds. “I think his hard work goes unnoticed, but certainly not by me.

“Founding the academy is part of my father’s legacy. He loved being a part of something that he knew would help young girls have opportunities.”