Denise O'Sullivan left Liverpool because she was miserable. She'll tell you that plainly. "I was just not feeling myself, and very down," the Irish midfielder says. At 32, with limited runway left, she wasn't willing to wait it out.
So she called the sporting director, told him she needed out, and flew to New Jersey. Now she's the leading voice in Gotham FC's midfield as they chase an NWSL Shield and championship double.
The turnaround is stark. O'Sullivan joined Liverpool in January 2024 for a reported club-record fee of around £350,000 — a genuine statement signing. She scored twice across 13 appearances, helped them avoid WSL relegation, and reached the FA Cup semis. Objectively, not a disaster. But she never settled, and in a sport where feel and rhythm drive output, that matters.
What Gotham are actually getting
This isn't a player limping through her final years on reputation. O'Sullivan holds North Carolina Courage's all-time record for regular-season appearances at 155, and was central to back-to-back NWSL championships in 2018 and 2019, plus three consecutive Shields. She knows what winning cultures look like — and she's been building one in Whippany since July.
Gotham sit top of the NWSL with 51 points from a 15-4-6 record, five clear of Washington Spirit with five games to play. They've already secured a playoff spot. A Shield is within reach. Their title odds make compelling reading right now, and O'Sullivan's leadership is a factor that doesn't show in the xG charts — ask Yael Averbuch West, the club's president of soccer operations, who says the team has "barely scratched the surface" of what she brings.
Head coach Juan Carlos Amorós brought her in knowing exactly what role she'd play — not just positionally, but culturally. The presence of Sean Nahas, her former head coach at the Courage who now serves in a technical capacity at Gotham, was a significant pull factor. "He is so smart, the way he coaches, the way he sees the game," O'Sullivan says. "Having someone here who you know believes in you that much was a massive factor."
The Ireland milestone waiting in Cork
With 132 caps since her senior debut in 2011, O'Sullivan is two appearances away from breaking Emma Byrne's all-time Ireland record of 134. A call-up for the World Cup qualification playoff semifinal against Kazakhstan — potentially played back home in Cork — could see her reach that landmark in front of her own people.
Ireland are chasing a second consecutive World Cup appearance after their historic 2023 debut, and O'Sullivan has been central to that story. "Putting on the green shirt means so much. It's the best thing I can do in my career," she says.
Roy Keane watched her Gotham debut from the stands. Ireland head coach Carla Ward flew over to see her return from injury. The support network around O'Sullivan is unusually dense for a club player mid-season — which tells you something about how the Irish football community views her.
Teammate Taryn Torres, 27, has spent years trying to model her game on O'Sullivan's. "A midfielder that's technical. She's always taking her looks, trying to go forward," Torres says. "I try to play like her — and now, to play with her, is cool."
Five matches left before the playoffs. Gotham host last-placed Chicago Stars on Friday. O'Sullivan wants a Shield and a championship. She's been here before — she knows what it takes. The question is whether this Gotham squad has enough to finish the job when October arrives.
