Two-time Euro-winning defender Lucy Bronze opens up about the short shelf life faced by sports stars – and the very normal career path she almost took
Lioness Lucy Bronze is the most decorated female footballer in England. But her life almost went down a different path entirely.
“My mum’s a maths teacher, my brother did a degree in maths, we all did A level maths. Maths is everywhere. I’m such a big believer in the power of education, and how maths is an absolutely crucial life skill,” says Lucy.
The two-time Euro-winning star revealed if she wasn’t a footballer…she’d be an accountant.
“It was between football and accountancy for me. Although I’ve met some accountants as an adult who say that perhaps being a professional footballer has been more fun,” she laughs.
And you never know: she might need that maths A level one day. “There is a shelf life for a footballer – being a professional athlete is a much shorter career than your average,” says Lucy. “I may still be an accountant yet! But the great thing about that is that you don’t take anything for granted. You eat, sleep, drink, train. My 24 hours in a day is spent focused on that.
READ MORE: Lucy Bronze defends Mary Earps: ‘Female players are constantly under a magnifying glass’
“If I had a different career maybe I’d switch off a bit more. I know that my mum as a maths teacher, she wasn’t completely obsessed with teaching every minute of the day. It’s nice to know that whenever this ends, I’ll still be relatively young so I’ll be able to look back at it and celebrate.
“I don’t celebrate things too much. But when I know its finished, I’ll look back and celebrate everything I’ve achieved.”
Lucy is partnering with Barclays bank and National Numeracy ahead of Number Confidence Week this November. Barclay’s initiative aims to connect with young people and parents across the UK, encouraging confidence when it comes to numeracy, which of course plays a vital role in everyday life, from splitting the bill to checking travel stats or tracking football scores.
Earlier this month Lucy hit the headlines for defending ex-England goalie Mary Earps over criticism she has received for making negative comments about former teammates in her explosive new book.
Paris Saint-German goalie Earps spoke out about goalkeeper Hannah Hampton and team coach Sarina Wiegman in her autobiography All In, saying Wiegman was rewarding “bad behaviour” by reintegrating Hampton into the Lionesses squad in 2023.
But right-back Bronze, 34, says male footballers would not be subject to such forensic scrutiny, telling The Mirror: “Female players are constantly under a magnifying glass. In a football team you have a group of 20 to 30 players – there’s no way everyone will think the same things. There are different personalities – and there is high pressure.
“Men are solely judged on their ability and their lifestyle to a certain extent, but only if it’s a huge headline. Generally, for most of the popular female footballers, there’s a constant lens on what we’re doing – on and off the pitch.”
Manchester-based Lucy, who plays for Chelsea and England, won the UEFA Women’s Champions League five times – three times with Lyon and twice with Barcelona. She is rumoured to be dating Ona Batlle, the Spanish full-back.
Open about her 2021 diagnosis of ADHD and autism, she says of growing up: “I struggled to make friends. I was hyper-focused as a child and I always felt different to others.
“There were parts of my younger life where I was teased and bullied at school, for being a tomboy too. It was hard.
“Sport was my way of connecting with people when I couldn’t otherwise. That environment gave me somewhere I could be competitive and be obsessed with something. It gave me a safe space.”
Showing true grit, Bronze – who has twice been in the Euro-winning side – played the entire 2025 tournament with a fractured tibia.
She says: “It’s the first time maybe anyone has been able to prove that they’ll actually do anything to play for England. People may say that ‘they’d play with a broken leg’, but I’ve actually done it.”
She has her childhood to thank for her staying power.
“My first home was a one bed, a little flat above a corner shop: mum, dad, my brother and me. We never had a lot of money, we made the most of what we’d got,” she says.
This week Bronze made history by being named in the Fifpro Women’s World XI – a global football award decided entirely by professional players – for a record eighth time.
But she still has one major ambition, adding: “Winning the World Cup has been at the top of my bucket list ever since I put on an England shirt. I’ve managed to do everything else apart from that.
“Before we won the Euros, I said I’d trade every single trophy I’d won in my life to win one thing for England. Obviously, we’ve won two Euros now… well I’d trade those two Euros for a World Cup.
“The men’s England shirt has a star above it because of 1966, when the men won. In 2019 we had our own women’s shirt designed for the first time, and the star went missing – I want that star back.”
*Lucy Bronze has partnered with Barclays LifeSkills and National Numeracy to support Number Confidence Week
READ MORE: Chloe Kelly wows in see-through dress as fellow Lioness stars go to war over book
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply