Lucy Bronze: Five things to know about the UWCL icon

Factfile:

Date of birth: Oct. 28, 1991
Clubs: Sunderland, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, OL Lyonnes, Barcelona, Chelsea
International team: England
Trophies: UWCL (5), WSL (4), Division 1 Femenine (3), Liga F (2), Women's FA Cup (3), Coupe fe France femenine (2), Copa de la Reina (1)

"Lucy Bronze is one of a kind."

England manager Sarina Wiegman was speaking after England's win over Sweden in the Euro 2025 quarterfinals, where Bronze's heroic efforts had helped the Lionesses come back from 2-0 down.

"I have never, ever seen this before in my life, and I'm very lucky person that I've worked with so many incredible people, incredible football players, and there are so many, but what she does, and her mentality." Wiegman continued.

Her remarks took on a greater meaning when Bronze revealed she had played the entire tournament with a broken leg. That hadn't stopped her from being an integral member of the Lionesses' triumph at Euro 2025.

It was Bronze's second successive Euros title, the first coming three years prior in 2022.

Her exploits in Europe at club level are of similarly gargantuan proportions.

The most successful English player in European competition:

Bronze has won the Women's Champions League a staggering five times. The first of those came in her debut season at OL Lyonnes in 2017-18, where her goal in the semifinal second-leg against Manchester City was nominated for the Goal of the Season. She won further titles in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

The defender also won the competition in both of her two seasons at Barcelona, first in 2022-23 and then again in 2023-24.

The last of those triumphs took her past Liverpool defender Phil Neal, who won four European titles in the 1970s and 1980s, as the most decorated English player of all time.

Cheese Burst on Monday, Champions League on Tuesday

The peaks Bronze reached are in sharp contrast to the manner of her foray onto the European stage. She made her Champions League debut as an 18-year-old in 2010 for Everton, who were still eight years away from being fully professional.

Bronze worked part-time at Domino's during her time at Everton and later admitted that she spent "more time serving pizza than on the pitch" due to injuries.

The first defender to win the UEFA Women's Footballer of the Year:

Bronze won the honour for her performances in the 2018-19 season for OL Lyonnes, helping the French side secure their sixth UWCL title. She remains the only defender to have won the award.

Bronze's performances that season also saw her come second in the Ballon d'Or rankings. It's the joint-highest finish for any English player (men and women) in the Ballon d'Or.

On par with Renard:

Last season, Bronze equalled Wendie Renard's record for most appearances in the FIFPRO Women's World 11.

It was the seventh time in her career that the England international was voted into the world team of the year by her peers.

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Her superpower:

In March 2025, Bronze revealed she had received an autism diagnosis and put her longevity in the game down to it.

"People always say, 'Oh, you're so passionate about football'," she in an interview to the BBC.

"I don't know if I'd say I'm passionate ... I'm obsessed. That's my autism."

"Training every day is amazing for me. Some of the other girls will be like: 'Are you sure you're 33 because you don't stop?' It's just my superpower ... All the things I have because of autism have worked in my advantage."