Alisha Lehmann: Leicester striker on social media and dealing with online criticism

Lehmann, 26, who was born in Switzerland, has spoken in the past about her hope of using her social media platform to build the profile of women’s football and bring the game to a new audience.

For comparison, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo from England have 1.5 million and 1.1 million followers on Instagram respectively, while former American star Alex Morgan has 9 million.

Her posts alternate between lifestyle and football content, catering to a broad and diverse following, but making her a target for those seeking to criticize her.

“Sometimes, it’s frustrating,” she told BBC Sport. “People don’t see the work I do. They think I just train and then come home and make TikToks – that’s not true.

“I’m very professional. I always give everything on the field and I want to be the best. If I don’t give 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 made her first move 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 spells at East London, Everton and Aston Villa.

After a difficult spell in Italy with Juventus and then Como, Lehmann says returning to a country she believes is “home” was an obvious decision.

“I signed a long-term contract at Como, but after a month I realized I didn’t like it and wanted to return to England,” she explained.

“I love it here, the football is better and I feel like England is my home.”