If I could, I'd change the way I came up through the football ranks. I'd love to have had an academy life the way the boys have it. I think female footballers would be so much better for having that opportunity, and we'd be more effective because we would be better players.

Lucy Bronze

You cannot win a game of football on your own; it's about the entire squad working together to achieve something. That's how football works: it has always been about the group, not the individual.

Lucy Bronze

Work Your You

It's a rite of passage for all women to make sure the next generation is in a better place than you. I will play my part.

Lucy Bronze

Women Men Art

I don't call myself a women's footballer; I say I'm a footballer.

Lucy Bronze

Women Men T

My father is Portuguese, and in Portugal, it is traditional to take your mother's maiden name as a middle name. My mum is called Tough.

Lucy Bronze

Your You Traditional

When I went to my first FA Cup final, we had to pack bags in Tesco to raise enough money for a bus to London. Now, I own a house.

Lucy Bronze

Money Use Us

The players in the England team, the majority of us didn't play more than twice a week until we were 20. The younger girls are training more than that now, so in 10 years' time, when they take over from us, the quality will be so much higher. That's what I'd like to see.

Lucy Bronze

Time Younger Young

The one thing in the world that I can't do without is my glasses. I don't really care about my laptop, I never answer my phone, and I don't care about trainers and stuff. But I'm pretty blind without my glasses or contact lenses.

Lucy Bronze

Car World Without

I've had four knee surgeries in my career. I just don't do small injuries. The highs of winning are always balanced out by the lows of being injured and missing games. There was a time when I was out for nearly a year, having already been out for six months with another surgery before that.

Lucy Bronze

Time Car Year

When I signed for Lyon, I pictured myself lifting the Champions League trophy, and I don't think that has ever changed.

Lucy Bronze

Change Trophy Tin

I think my level of cuisine was pretty good even before I came to France, but it's the wine here that's really improved my palette - when I have it, anyway. It's meant to be good for you, right?

Lucy Bronze

Good You Wine

I can't do tricks, but I absolutely loved trying, and one of my fondest memories growing up was trying to imitate Ronaldinho and do his dance.

Lucy Bronze

Love Yin Wing

I was really, really shy. My dad used to drive me for an hour and a half to go training. I used to finish school, jump in the car, come back, and go to bed. I missed out on socialising with my friends when I was a shy child anyway.

Lucy Bronze

Car Wit Way

At Sunderland, our kit was five times too big, and we got the local bus to games; in America, I got bags of Nike kit, flew to away games, and played in front of thousands of fans. It opened my eyes to what women's football could - and should - be.

Lucy Bronze

Women Time Men

I started on the phones, taking orders, and then I did the toppings, making the pizzas, cutting and boxing them - everything, really.

Lucy Bronze

Art Very Top

From my family, my mum, auntie and nan were all strong women and why I am who I am today.

Lucy Bronze

Women Men Family

We are footballers, so if you've got to play with someone, you've got to play with them. What happens off the pitch, well, you can't get on with everyone you work with.

Lucy Bronze

Work You Wit

I didn't dream of joining Man City as a professional one day, or representing England, because I didn't know that was even possible.

Lucy Bronze

Use Us Tin

I'm not scared of snakes, spiders, flying... nothing scares me apart from needles. I just hate them. Which is quite funny because I've had four knee operations, and I've got tattoos, so I've seen a few needles in my time.

Lucy Bronze

Time Funny Car

I've done quite a bit in England. I've won the majority of trophies and awards that there is to win, apart from top goalscorer... which is hard as a defender.

Lucy Bronze

War Art Won

I just want to challenge myself all the time.

Lucy Bronze

Time Want Us

I want to go back to school, get my master's, and do the accountancy thing at last. You know, get back to the dream. The real dream, that is, not the football dream.

Lucy Bronze

If I could, I'd change the way I came up through the football ranks. I'd love to have had an academy life the way the boys have it. I think female footballers would be so much better for having that opportunity, and we'd be more effective because we would be better players.

Lucy Bronze

For England, I play centre-half. I enjoy it. You face all the best strikers in the world. I enjoy the challenge.

Lucy Bronze

I just don't have that natural instinct to be able to let my guard down and start speaking to people. I never have - I've always been a bit socially awkward, even with people I've known for a long time.

Lucy Bronze

I think because of how big the women's teams at Lyon and PSG are, the expectation on the team and the huge fan base - it leaves the door open for so much media. But I think that's a good thing.

Lucy Bronze

You're not best friends with someone just because you work with them, but you have to be able to at least work together, or there is no point.

Lucy Bronze

When I first signed a contract with a women's team, my contract stated that if I played, I would get 100 pounds, and if I didn't play, it would be zero.

Lucy Bronze

I adored my brother when I was younger, so I wanted to do everything he did.

Lucy Bronze

I run the most for every team that I play for. That's because I ran so much when I was younger.

Lucy Bronze

That's something I learned at Lyon: how humble and grounded the best players in the world are. They're always wanting more. At Lyon, they're winners. At England, it's the same.

Lucy Bronze

I think, to a certain extent, there is a pressure, although I don't think I've felt the pressure at Lyon more than I've felt at any other club I've played at.

Lucy Bronze

I think it's a thing in France, and I think you see it a little bit in Spain with Atletico: the countries and the cities just absolutely love their football. It's not because they're just marketing geniuses; it's because they've made it simple.

Lucy Bronze

In a World Cup, the girls at Lyon are probably the ones that are going to change the games, and I know them inside out.

Lucy Bronze

At Sunderland, all the girls knew each other. I wasn't that extroverted person to go join in. I was a little bit in my shell. But as soon as I started kicking a football, it was fine.

Lucy Bronze

I've never been that person who has a lot of self-doubt.

Lucy Bronze

I remember, when I was at Sunderland, we made the FA Cup final and played in front of 20,000 at Derby.

Lucy Bronze

I didn't get paid enough money really to live properly, sleeping on people's sofas and stuff, but that was the moment when I thought, 'I just wanna play football professionally; whether I get paid 10 euros or 10,000 euros, I just wanna play.'

Lucy Bronze

I wanna play until I am 45 if my body will let me. After football, I have no idea.

Lucy Bronze

I never had a problem with the people I was close to because I was playing football with them, and they knew I could play. It didn't matter that I was a girl.

Lucy Bronze

It's always lovely to win trophies, have nice things said about you, and be nominated for individual awards. But I feel I can give more - a lot more - to both Lyon and England, and that is definitely my focus.

Lucy Bronze

I don't feel like congratulating myself, because I know there's still a lot of room for improvement.

Lucy Bronze

I stay somewhere for a couple of years and then think, 'What next?' I find it easier to challenge myself by going to different clubs, environments, and playing with different players.

Lucy Bronze

Football is something I would never give up on, whether I ended up playing professional or in a Sunday league team.

Lucy Bronze

It's probably the wrong way round, I know, but I just love maths and doing equations. When I was a kid, I was really good at it, so when I was seven, I asked my mum what job lets you do maths and pays you for it. She said accountancy, and that was it. I was dead set.

Lucy Bronze

I played with the likes of Kelly Smith, Rachel Yankey, and Fara Williams - all these great players. Everybody knew who they were, and I was turning into one of these girls who were always my heroes.

Lucy Bronze

At Lyon, there's 20 other superstars there - I'm not the best player there. I'm not the best player at England.

Lucy Bronze

There were three football fields next door to my house. I used to walk down to the boys' team, but eventually, I was told I was going to have to stop playing because I was a girl.

Lucy Bronze

I turned up for my first day training with England Under-19s super excited, and I just happened to bang my knee on the floor, and it just blew up. It turned out that I'd completely snapped it in half.

Lucy Bronze

When I'm playing football, it's what I know; it's what I'm good at. The spotlight is not just on you: you're with 10 of your team-mates. I could have done other sports, like tennis and athletics, but I like being part of a team where it's not just about you; it's about everybody.

Lucy Bronze

I moved to Liverpool in 2012, and they were really ambitious, bringing in top players. In 2013, we beat Arsenal - who seemed invincible - 4-0. It was the shock of the century.

Lucy Bronze