Chelsea captain Millie Bright has revealed why she chose to pull out of the England squad for the Women's Euro 2025. The experienced Lionesses defender did not travel to Switzerland with the national team as she claimed she was "mentally and physically" drained after a gruelling 2024-25 campaign with the Blues, who secured the WSL title for the seventh time in a row.
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Bright ruled herself out of Women's Euro 2025Opened up on dealing with mental health issuesHad a gruelling season with ChelseaFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Bright has now opened up on dealing with mental health issues as she explained the reason behind her decision not to participate in the European championship in Switzerland this summer.
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Speaking to reporters, the 31-year-old said: "There’s more than just England under consideration when it came to that decision. There’s me being able to walk down the stairs after I’ve played 90 minutes of football, there’s me in the future when I have children being able to walk around properly, being able to bend down and pick up toys, there’s me being able to do normal life things like put on socks without being in pain and, for the first time in a long time, I genuinely didn’t think about the response of the public because that just wasn’t a priority.
"For the first time in a long time, I’m not thinking about anyone else. I’m actually thinking about myself and, to be honest, it sounds savage, I wasn’t really bothered how the public would react. When you’re in the spotlight sometimes you make decisions that are best for the people around you and in this situation it was a decision purely based on what’s best for Millie: what’s best for my mind, what’s best for my mental health and what’s best for my knee. I needed to get that surgery and I have to think about my longevity too and I have to think about competing next season for Chelsea in a jam-packed squad where my position could quite easily be taken away."
Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Bright added: "I’m really grateful for the response and everyone that has said how brave it was and that it’s allowed people to take a little bit of confidence for if they need to make that decision. As an athlete, first and foremost, you are a human, you’re not an object. We’re not indestructible, we do break, our minds break, our bodies break, and I had to make a decision that was best for me at that moment."
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?
Sarina Wiegman's side began their title defence on a disappointing note as they went down 2-1 against France in a pulsating Group D opener. The Lionesses will next face the Netherlands in a must-win clash on Wednesday.