Roord: City will remain in my heart | OneFootball

Jill Roord has today paid a heartfelt tribute to staff, players and fans following her departure from City – and stressed the reason for her leaving the Club was the opportunity to return to her native Netherlands.

The classy midfielder has completed a permanent transfer to Dutch champions Twente, subject to international clearance, which brings the curtain down on her excellent two-season stay at the Joie Stadium.

During that time she made 47 appearances, scoring 16 goals and registering six assists, despite recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury which kept her on the sidelines for eight months between January 2024 and September of the same year.

Her switch to Twente means she’ll be playing Dutch domestic football for the first time since 2017, and although she admitted it’s time to return to her homeland, Roord has paid tribute to everyone at the Club and our fans for their support from day one.

“It was definitely [a difficult decision], I have mixed emotions. It was a difficult decision and one I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” she explained.

WATCH: Watch: Roord’s best City moments

“The main thing is, it has nothing to do with City, I love the Club and I love the team and really enjoyed my time there, but I’ve been playing abroad for such a long time and every year it became more difficult for me to be away from home.

“[I want to say] thank you to the supporters. From day one, I’ve felt really at home at City.

“When you’re from abroad it’s difficult to kind of feel at home, but from all the clubs I’ve played at I felt at home right away.”

Following her arrival at City in July 2023, Roord wasted little time in settling into her new surroundings – netting on her debut in a 2-0 win at West Ham.

Before she unfortunately suffered the season-ending knee injury six months after signing for the Blues, she had already scored eight goals and registered three assists in 16 games.

And she believes the culture at City helps players reach their full potential.

“From all the top clubs I’ve played [for], City was the nicest and easiest team for me settle in,” she added.

“The whole Club is very warm, everybody made me feel really welcome.

“It really had a team feeling and in top football, there are a lot of players who – not necessarily play for themselves, but sometimes you focus on yourself a lot but at City I felt everybody was happy for each other and we wanted to be successful as a team.

“I really enjoyed the girls and the Club and the whole atmosphere. It helps a lot.

“We’re all grown ups but at the same time we all need support and I think especially if you have an injury or you’re from abroad, people look out for you which is very important.

“At City that definitely happened, from the girls but also from the staff and the Club itself.”

Roord’s first season at City was cut short after she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in a League Cup victory over Manchester United.

What followed was a relentless rehabilitation period which saw the Netherlands international become one of the fastest players in Barclays Women’s Super League history to return from that type of injury.

WATCH: Roord to Recovery: Jill's rehab journey begins

For Roord, she says the openness and flexibility from the Club's medical staff best aided her recovery.

“The injury was sad and obviously a difficult time, but at the same time I really enjoyed together with the medical staff,” she said.

“I think they were very open if I needed something or if I had questions or if I wanted something differently, they were also very open to talk about it and I felt very heard.

“When something like that happens it’s key that the medical staff listens to the players because every player and person is different.

“With that injury, it’s not just physically but mentally too with what you need. They were very open from day one.

“What I really appreciated was that we didn’t go [off a schedule], they obviously had one in mind but we just went off what felt good for me.

“So when we were at seven to eight months I was ready and they also let me play. I remember the summer, when I asked for a week they made sure I could go on holiday that week and someone could come to train with me. So everything was smooth.”

Throughout an injury-hit campaign which saw City without many of our key players last term, we narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification as we finished fourth in 2024/25.

However, Roord believes the Blues aren’t far away from competing at the top of European football – especially with the guidance of Managing Director Charlotte O’Neill and Director of Football Therese Sjogran.

She concluded: “I don’t think we’re far off anyway, I think this season was just a bit of bad luck with the injuries. When we started the season, I thought we were going to win the league this year because we did amazing.

“I remember the Barca game, I think that’s one of the best games I’ve seen in women’s football maybe.

“We’re up there and with Therese coming in and building the structure again, if you look at the squad with those who are staying and will play next season it’s an amazing team.

“I know the Club with Charlotte and Therese is in really good hands so I’m sure next year City will have the chance to win the league.”

Speaking on Roord’s departure Sjogran said: “It’s been a pleasure working with Jill who has remained a consummate professional during her time at Manchester City and throughout these negotiations.

“Although we’re naturally disappointed to see a player of Jill’s quality depart the Club, we’re delighted for her to return to the Netherlands which we know represents the best place for her at this time.

“She’ll always be welcome back to the Joie Stadium with open arms and everyone at City wishes her nothing but the best for the future.”