Factfile:
Date of birth: June 29, 1990
Clubs: Hibernian, Arsenal, OL Reign, Melbourne City
International team: Scotland (retd.)
Trophies: Scottish Premier League (1), WSL (3), Women's FA Cup (5), NWSL Shield (2), W-League (1), W-League (1), W-League Premiers (1), UWCL (1)
Leah Williamson hailed Kim Little as a player who deserves "seven or eight" Women's Champions League titles. Two-time World Cup winner Tobin Heath said she hasn't played with a better footballer than her. Former England international and now Disney+ UWCL analyst Ellen White called her the "GOAT."
The Arsenal captain keeps out of the limelight but the regard she is held in by her contemprories is evident.
Little has won every trophy on offer across two spells in north London, with last season's UWCL triumph completing the set.
The win over Barcelona in the final rubbed stamped her status as one of the competitioin's greatest-ever players.
Her role in the UWCL triumph:
Little's role in Arsenal's Champions League triumph last season was massive. She started 10 of their 11 games, including every match in the knockout stages. She was voted Player of the Match in the second leg of the semifinal against OL Lyonnes, where Arsenal overturned a 2-1 deficit from the first leg to win 5-2 on aggregate.
She was imperious in the final as well, holding her own against a midfield comprising of Ballon d'Or winners Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí. The win made her one of only two Scotland internationals to have won the UWCL.
Good enough to be old enough:
Little's professional debut came for Hibernian in a UWCL (then called UEFA Women's Cup) qualifier against Espanyol in 2006. She was 16 years, 40 days old at the time.
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For context, the record for youngest-ever player to start a game in the UWCL is Lily Yohannes, who was 16 years, 156 days on her UWCL debut for Ajax in 2023.
Breaking records for Arsenal:
Little broke the club record for most UWCL appearances in Arsenal's opener against OL Lyonnes in October. In doing so, she surpassed Emma Byrne (77 appearances) who had been a part of Arsenal's historic quadruple winning side of 2007.
The Scotland international is also Arsenal's leading scorer in the UWCL with 38 goals and is second on their all-time list with 175 goals.
Inaugural PFA Women's Player of the Year award winner:
In 2013, Little became the first-ever winner of the PFA Women's Player of the Year award. The previous year, she was the top scorer in the league with 11 goals in 14 appearances as Arsenal went unbeaten across the season.
A champion outside Europe too:
Little's two stints at Arsenal are broken up by a three year-spell for OL Reign in the United States and Melbourne City in Australia.
She won the Player of the Month award in each of her first three months in Seattle, becoming the first-ever NWSL player to do so. The Reign lifted the NWSL Shield in both of her two seasons at the club as well as winning the league MVP in 2014.
Little spent the 2015-16 season at Melbourne City and finished as the second-highest scorer in the league as the Australian side won the regular season and Grand Final.