There are players who pass through football clubs and leave barely a trace. And then there are players like Gemma Bonner. Women who become so deeply woven into the fabric of a club that their departure does not just represent a personnel change but the end of an entire chapter. When Liverpool FC Women confirmed on Friday that both Bonner and Gemma Evans would leave at the end of the 2025-26 season, it was not a routine end-of-season announcement. It was the closing of a story that has spanned over a decade, crossed continents, broken records, and inspired a generation of young women to dream bigger than they ever thought possible.
Head coach Gareth Taylor, speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s WSL season finale against Arsenal at Anfield, was asked about both departing defenders. His tributes were warm, sincere, and entirely deserved.
Gemma Bonner: A Liverpool Legend in Every Sense
The numbers alone tell a remarkable story. Gemma Bonner departs Liverpool FC Women as the club’s all-time leading appearance-maker in the WSL era, with 186 games across two spells at the club. To put that into context, the previous record of 134, set by Ashley Hodson, was one that most observers thought would stand for years. Bonner did not just break it. She obliterated it, adding more than 50 further appearances on top of the previous best and doing so with a consistency and quality that never once wavered.
Born in Leeds on 13 July 1991, Bonner began her career with her hometown club before moving to Chelsea as a teenager and then signing for Liverpool in November 2012. From the very beginning, she was a player apart. Matt Beard, the Liverpool manager who brought her to Merseyside, saw in her a leader as much as a footballer, and that instinct proved correct. Within months of arriving, Bonner was named captain, and in 2013 she lifted the Women’s Super League title for the first time. Twelve months later, she did it again. Back-to-back champions. A feat that placed Liverpool FC Women at the very pinnacle of the English women’s game and cemented Bonner’s place in the club’s history forever.
Her first spell lasted six years before she departed for Manchester City in 2018, where she won two Women’s FA Cups and two Continental League Cups under a certain Gareth Taylor. It is a connection that gives Friday’s tribute from the Liverpool head coach an added layer of personal warmth. “I was fortunate enough to be able to coach her at Manchester City also,” Taylor noted. From City, Bonner ventured to the United States, joining expansion club Racing Louisville in the NWSL in 2021, winning the Women’s Cup in her first season and being appointed captain in her second.
Then, on Christmas Eve 2022, Liverpool announced that Bonner was coming home. Her words upon rejoining captured everything about her relationship with the club. “Growing up as a Liverpool fan it probably means that little bit more. Seeing my shirt today with the name on the back again was almost a little emotional. The vibe feels good, it feels right to come back.” It was right. In her second spell she has been everything the club needed her to be. On November 9, 2023, in a Continental League Cup tie against Manchester City at Prenton Park, she became the club’s record appearance holder, surpassing Hodson’s mark with her 135th game. The dressing room celebrations that followed spoke to how much the achievement meant to her teammates. Ian Callaghan, the holder of the men’s appearance record, presented her with a special framed shirt to mark the occasion. Shortly afterwards, in April 2024, a dressing room at the Kirkby Academy was renamed in her honour, making her the first figure from the women’s game to be recognised in that way at a facility that has long celebrated the men’s team’s greatest icons. Her name now sits alongside Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler in those corridors.
Taylor’s tribute on Friday reflected all of this. “A fantastic servant for Liverpool Football Club. Something to be really proud of, particularly the amount of appearances and the two spells she had at the club,” he said. “For us, she has been a real ambassador for the football club on and off the pitch. She goes with our best wishes because she’s given a lot to the club and we really appreciate everything that she’s done on and off the pitch to drive this club forward.” He paused to acknowledge the broader significance of her career, pointing to the younger generation she has inspired along the way. “Certainly the younger generation, she’ll be able to tell some stories from when she was starting out as a pro in the game, when it would have been relatively very much semi-pro, and the differences and the journey that she’s been on has been fascinating to see because it has spanned a long period of time and a lot of appearances. Really proud of her achievements. She’s been a real stalwart of the club for a long time.”
Gemma Evans: A Positive Force in Every Room She Entered
The departure of Gemma Evans carries a different but equally significant weight. The Wales international, versatile enough to play across the defensive line, joined Liverpool two seasons ago and made 38 appearances across her time on Merseyside, both of which ended in runs to the semi-finals of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup. She opened her Liverpool goalscoring account in September 2025 against Sunderland in the Women’s League Cup, a memorable moment, and followed it up with another finish at London Bees in the FA Cup fourth round earlier in 2026.
Evans has been less of a headline name than Bonner, but those within the dressing room at Kirkby have spoken consistently about the importance of her presence, her voice, and her attitude to every training session and every matchday. Taylor’s tribute captured that perfectly. “A really good girl to work with. She has been a real positive for the team and certainly for the dressing room. She’s really, really well-liked and you can see why, because she’s a top-class girl to work with. She brings a level of maturity and experience to the team.” He acknowledged the natural evolution that requires even well-liked and well-performing players to move on as a club plans its future. “In our planning and looking to move forward, we’re always trying to improve and get better, and there’s obviously going to be some comings and goings. Gemma goes with our thanks for what she has done for this football club. She has made a really positive impact at the club, both on and off the pitch. Been fantastic to work with and is a real top professional.”
Saturday’s Farewell: A Send-Off They Deserve
Both women will make their final appearances for Liverpool FC Women at Anfield on Saturday afternoon, when the Reds host Arsenal in the final WSL fixture of the 2025-26 campaign. For Bonner in particular, the occasion will carry enormous emotional significance. An Anfield farewell, in front of the supporters who have cheered her name across two spells and more than a decade of service, is a fitting stage for one of the most decorated players in the history of Liverpool FC Women. She started playing football at the age of eight. She went on to captain a club she loves to two league titles, break every appearance record the club possesses, and have a dressing room named in her honour. Not many careers carry that kind of resonance.
Liverpool FC Women are losing two professionals of the highest quality this weekend. The search to replace what they bring, both in terms of football and in terms of character, will not be straightforward. Some things simply cannot be replaced. They can only be honoured. On Saturday at Anfield, Liverpool FC Women will do exactly that.
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YNWA (You’ll Never Walk Alone)!
The Liverpool FC Times Team
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