Mary Fowler makes a stunning confession about how close she came to quitting soccer altogether

Matildas and Manchester City star Mary Fowler has revealed how close she came to walking away from football after intense pressure as a teenager made her fall out of love with the game.

Fowler, 22, who debuted for the Australian national team at just 15 years of age, said if she hadn't found success so early on in life, she might have 'done something else'.

'Football at times wasn't the most enjoyable experience to me because I was just so immersed in it,' she said in an interview series with the Commonwealth Bank.

'If a game didn't go well or if I missed a shot on goal that I should have scored, it was the biggest deal.

'Like, oh, you don't deserve your opportunities or you're a bad person.

'I think if I hadn't gone to the national team that soon, maybe I would have done something else.'

Mary Fowler (pictured) has revealed how close she came to walking away from football and depriving the Matildas of one of their brightest stars

The 22-year-old says if she hadn't found success so early on in her career, there's a chance she might have quit the sport

Currently recovering from an ACL injury in England, Fowler also spoke about her recovery process.

'I have recently made a conscious effort to think that I don't have like a bad knee that needs to be fixed, but I'm getting an upgrade and I'm getting an even better knee,' she said.

'I have heard that a lot of girls when they come back … it can be up to a year to feel like probably normal again.

'I feel like 90 per cent of that is going to be a mental block and so it's something that I've thought about and been like, why don't I just start changing how I think about it now already?'

Earlier this month, Fowler revealed her long-term plans with NRL beau Nathan Cleary - and they include babies, adoption, and a life surrounded by animals on a rural property.

Despite being more than 17,000km away from home - and with no plans to play in Australia again 'any time soon, if ever' - Fowler says she's already looking ahead to a quieter life with the Penrith Panthers halfback.

'I really want to have a big family,' she told the Keegan and Company podcast.

'The only dream I have at the moment is to be a mum and have heaps of kids and be in a space where they can play outside a lot.'

Fowler could be sidelined for a year as she recovers from rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament - the same injury that has kept Sam Kerr out of action since January 2024

The Matildas forward has revealed her long-term plans with Nathan Cleary (pictured together) - and they include babies, adoption, and a life surrounded by animals on a rural property

Not content with just a picket fence and a swing set, she is thinking big - envisioning a home where her future children can get their hands dirty in the veggie patch, feed farm animals, and 'run wild in the mud.'

'If I had the set-up for that, it would be a dream,' she added.

Fowler - who hails from Cairns and is sister to siblings Caoimhin, Seamus, Ciara and Louise - said she sees a similar-sized family in her own future.

'I would love to have two or three kids of my own and then adopt,' she revealed.

'I don't know how many I would adopt, it's a long process. But in an ideal world I would like to adopt siblings. I would bring all of them into the home.'