The Aussie football star has opened up in a wide-ranging interview.
Mary Fowler has made a telling admission she’d much rather be back in Australia enjoying the warm weather with boyfriend Nathan Cleary, but feels right at home in Manchester. Fowler and Cleary’s future has been the source of much speculation in recent months, with Fowler spending the majority of her year in the UK playing for Manchester City.
Cleary spends most of his time in Australia playing NRL for the four-time defending champion Penrith Panthers, meaning he gets hardly any downtime with girlfriend Fowler. Speaking last month, Cleary opened up on how they make their long-distance relationship work, but admitted it isn’t easy.
The situation has sparked suggestions Cleary could look to switch to the English Super League in the near-future to be closer to Fowler. And there’s also been theories that Cleary and father Ivan could be a target of the new PNG franchise (set to come into the NRL in 2028) because of Fowler’s heritage there.
Fowler and Cleary spent the Christmas break together in Australia, road-tripping to Far North Queensland where she has extended family. But they’re now back to reality, with Fowler returning to Manchester and leaving Cleary back in Australia.
Mary Fowler opens up on living in Manchester away from family
Speaking to Optus Sport on Thursday in an extensive interview, Fowler insisted she loves being in Manchester – except for the dreary weather. The 21-year-old was born in Cairns and is much more acclimatised to the heat, but has been in the UK for three years now.
“I wish I could get a flight back,” she joked. “It was so nice being in the heat (during her holiday with Cleary). But we had our January camp in Abu Dhabi so that was a nice little ‘in between’ (the hot and cold).”
Fowler also moved to dismiss thoughts she might be homesick, particularly in light of the fact Matildas teammate Alanna Kennedy recently left Manchester and moved to America. “I do (feel at home),” she said. “I’ve been really lucky with the group of girls that have been here, and it’s stayed pretty consistent. I couldn’t ask for a better workplace to be in.”
As for living in Manchester she said: “My only issue is the weather. I love being in the city and going to cafes, and there are so many different ones here. So that ticks all the boxes for me in that sense. As long as I have my umbrella I’m pretty sweet.”
Mary Fowler opens up on future with Matildas
Fowler admitted she’d love to win a title with Manchester City, but that appears unlikely this season. And she revealed the vibe for the Matildas has been positive moving forward after their disappointing display at the Paris Olympics last year.
The Matildas failed to make it out of the group stage for the first time since the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and coach Tony Gustavsson fell on his sword afterwards. Tom Sermanni is currently leading the team on an interim basis, and Football Australia are hoping of having a full-time coach very soon.
“The Olympics was very disappointing for us in going out so early, but I think it’s nice that we have another chance that’s not too far way (Asian Cup in 2026),” she said. “I think we’re in a bit of a rebuild kind of phase and will have a new coach coming in at some stage.”
Gustavsson copped plenty of backlash for the way he utilised Fowler up front at the Olympics, and the 21-year-old admitted: “It’s so different going from club to national team. We’re so structured here (at Manchester City) and I get so used to that. And then we go there (to the Matildas) and it’s an entirely different style of playing.”