Ada Hegerberg was at centre of twerk furore - now the star is back after five-year exile

The 28-year-old retired from international duty after Euro 2017, resulting in her missing the 2019 World Cup where Norway were one of the favourites.

Having inspired Norway to the final at Euro 2013, the Lyon striker called time on her international career as a form of protest about how the Norwegian Football Federation treats women's football and a dispute over pay and conditions.

Explaining her decision in 2019, the first female Ballon d'Or winner told news outlet Morgenbladet: "It was tough at so many camps. I have been broken mentally.

"It has been a deeply depressing feeling. I had nightmares after being with the national team, you shouldn't have things like that. If you want to get anywhere in life you have to make choices.

"Immediately the thought came into my mind - 'I think I'll have to stop playing for the national team'. (Then) everything just ran off and I started to sleep well again."

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Norway were later knocked out of the 2019 World Cup by England at the quarter-final stage in her absence.

That's not the first time Hegerberg had made headlines off the pitch, though.

In the year prior to her international retirement, she became the first women to win the women's Ballon d'O thanks to her starring role in Lyon's French title and Champions League triumph.

But the historic moment was marred by host, DJ Martin Solveig, who asked if she 'knew how to twerk' as she received the award.

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Hegerberg said 'no' to his request, leading Solveig to apologise and explain that she 'understood it was a joke' which the Norway star later confirmed.

Solveig's question was criticised worldwide, though, with tennis legend Andy Murray slamming it as 'another example of the ridiculous sexism in sport' as the striker became the centre of the debate around equality in football.

In a boost for Norway, the six-time Champions League winner ended her international hiatus last year, explaining she wanted to inspire the next generation.

She returned to action just in time for Euro 2022, but Norway failed to make it out of their group, which contained eventual champions England.

Injuries have plagued Hegerberg in recent years - first being ruled out of action for 20 months after suffering an ACL injury in January 2020.

Setbacks continued in the previous season - limiting her to just eight appearances - though she still found the back of the net on six occasions.

But Hegerberg is now fully fit and raring to go ahead of the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which starts later this week.

A big-game player with 43 goals in 76 caps, Hegerberg also holds the record for most goals scored in the Women's Champions League at 59.

That is in addition to her scoring the most goals in a Champions League season [15 in the 2017/18 campaign] and being the first woman to score a hat-trick in a Champions League final [in the 4-1 win over Barcelona in 2019].

Hegerberg is also just the second footballer - in both male and female European Cup history - to score in four different finals after Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano.

In total, she has scored six goals in Champions League finals, with her most recent strike coming in the 3-1 victory against Barcelona in 2022.

And despite her injuries of late, the Catalan giants are looking to lure her to the Camp Nou in their effort to stop the centre-forward from inflicting further misery on them.

Hegerberg has just a year left on her deal in France and with 243 goals from 219 outings for Lyon, Hegerberg could decide now is the time for a new adventure.

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But first, her attention will be on the Women's World Cup, where she will be looking to show she is still capable of producing truly golden moments.

With Norway in action against hosts New Zealand in the tournament's opening fixture on Thursday, all eyes will be on Hegerberg.

You can follow live commentary of the 2023 Women's World Cup on the talkSPORT network, with our coverage kicking off on Saturday with England vs Haiti on talkSPORT at 10.30am