Alisha Lehmann: Leicester Striker on Social Media and Handling Online Criticism

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Swiss-born Alisha Lehmann, 26, has previously expressed her ambition to use her social media presence to raise the profile of women's football and attract a new audience to the sport.

For context, England's Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo have 1.5 million and 1.1 million Instagram followers respectively, while former US star Alex Morgan boasts 9 million followers.

Lehmann's posts vary between lifestyle content and football-related updates, appealing to a wide and diverse audience. However, this visibility also makes her a target for criticism.

"Sometimes, it's frustrating," she told BBC Sport. "People don't see the work that I put in. They think I just train and then go home to make TikToks - it's not true.

"I'm very professional. I always give everything on the pitch and I want to be the best. If I've not done my best when I check my data after training, I will do extra rounds to try to improve.

"People can think what they want but everything I do is focused on being the best player I can be."

Lehmann moved to the Women's Super League in 2018, joining West Ham after scoring twice in the 2018 European Under-19 Championship.

Over six years in England, she made 108 appearances, scoring 19 goals and providing 10 assists during her time at West Ham, Everton, and Aston Villa.

Following a challenging period in Italy with Juventus and Como, Lehmann says returning to England, a country she considers "home," was an obvious choice.

"I signed a long-term deal in Como but after a month I realised I didn't like it and wanted to return to England," she explained.

"I love it here, the football is better and England feels like home to me."

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Source BBC News - Breaking news, video and the latest top stories from the U.S. and around the world
BBC News - Breaking news, video and the latest top stories from the U.S. and around the world