With eight WSL winners’ medals, six FA Cups and three League Cup winners’ medals, Chelsea skipper Millie Bright has done it all domestically.
A domestic treble last season - her second with the club - was her latest achievement, while on the international front she was part of the 2022 European Championship winning side and would then captain the Lionesses to the World Cup final 12 months later.
Bright had to withdraw from selection ahead of Euro 2025, so was not present when the Lionesses defended their crown, but as she looks back at her career to date and ahead to what's next, more European success is high on her to-do list.
Millie Bright on England ups and downs, plus eyeing Champions League glory
As is often the case with any footballer at the highest level, the road has not always been straightforward, with Bright scoring an own goal in the Euro 2017 semi-final and then being sent off in the 2019 World Cup semi. Did she think she was jinxed?
“Yeah… At the Euros, the ball flicked off me and went in, but small moments like that don’t define your legacy or how well you might have played during the whole tournament,” Bright tells FourFourTwo.
“As long as you learn from things, they’re a blessing, rather than a hindrance. I got sent off in the World Cup semi-final, but you gain a thick skin and have to deal with a lot. We shouldn’t have to put up with hatred or trolling, but it made me stronger. In sport you have to be thick-skinned – there are opinions and we have to deal with them.”
The hard yards paid off at Euro 2022, but did she ever imagine a day as big as the Wembley final, when Germany were seen off?
"Oh god, absolutely not!,” Bright exclaims. “That was by the far the best day of my career to date. If we go and win the Champions League at Chelsea, that will top it, purely because I’ve been with the club for so long and on the journey from the start, when we got battered by Wolfsburg.
“We used to draw Wolfsburg every time! Each year we get closer, so winning the Champions League with Chelsea, it would be the pinnacle of my career and the proudest moment by a country mile. But I also didn’t think I’d be in the position I was in, playing in a Euros final as the home nation.
“That’s what topped things off at Euro 2022 – we did it here, with our fans, and the whole country just went wild.”
With Leah Williamson injured for the 2023 World Cup, Bright was handed the captain’s armband and led the side all the way to the final. What was that like?
“Crazy,” she adds. “Leading the girls out at a World Cup was really special, and for the final especially. It was surreal. Those are the moments you carry with you forever, regardless of the outcome.”
Bright has launched her own limited edition sports bra and sportswear range, in partnership with MAAREE. For more information, visit MAAREE.com
