Ex-Lionesses star is married to Man Utd boss who rejected job where she played

Former England star Laura Bassett isn't the only football fanatic in her family – as she's married to Manchester United boss Marc Skinner.

Bassett will be cheering on the Lionesses with Skinner as they take on Spain in the Women's World Cup final later today (August 20), having been capped 63 times for her nation.

The pair met when she was playing for Birmingham City. Alongside her duties as club captain, Bassett helped coach their under-14s alongside an up-and-coming Skinner.

He worked his way through the ranks and eventually became Blues manager – but he only worked with the first team after Bassett had departed, refusing to do so beforehand.

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"It's part of the ethics of a coach," Skinner explained to BBC Sport. "I'm not here to judge anybody else. But from my perspective, no, I don't think [it should happen] because of course there's blurred lines.

"How do you keep your objectivity if you attach the emotional state to a relationship, for example. I know it happens and I know it has happened prior. But I don't know anybody else's situation."

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Bassett also sacrificed a return to the Blues in 2017 when her club Notts County folded as a result of Skinner's rule. “Marc’s at the start of a new project and, as much as I’d love to go back, it wouldn’t be right,” she said at the time.

“I’d just be giving him more problems. Also, I have to live with him so, if I want to shout at him about his untidiness at home, I don’t want to be taking that to work! It wouldn’t be healthy.”

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Skinner went on to take charge of Orlando Pride in the United States in January 2019, failing to win any of his opening nine games but turning things around and going on to register a club-record nine-game unbeaten streak before accepting United’s offer to succeed Casey Stoney.

Bassett, meanwhile, hung up her boots in 2019 after a short stint with Canberra in Australia, having missed the previous season to give birth to their daughter Saede. Her last England appearance saw her captain the side to a 2-1 win over Portugal at the 2017 Euros.

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