Missing Euros 'best Decision I Ever Made' - Bright

Millie Bright says withdrawing from England's Euro 2025 squad was "by acold nan champion determination I person ever made".

The 32-year-old defender said she would beryllium unable to "give 100% mentally aliases physically" successful nan tourney aft a play wherever she made 36 appearances for Chelsea, helping them triumph a home treble.

Bright, who has 88 England caps, was a regular successful nan Euro 2022-winning squad and captained Sarina Wiegman's broadside to nan World Cup last a twelvemonth later.

She revealed she had been ignoring ongoing issues arsenic Chelsea competed for awesome trophies but, aft their FA Cup occurrence against Manchester United, Bright realised she needed a break and could not beryllium portion of nan Lionesses' title defence successful Switzerland.

A penalty shootout win complete world champions Spain sealed a singular successive Euros triumph for England, but location were nary regrets for Bright successful making a "decision for me".

"You get into that mindset wherever thing comes betwixt what it takes to win," she told BBC Radio 5 Live's Women's Football Weekly podcast. "It's for illustration an engine, you conscionable support going.

"When nan play ended, erstwhile you yet let yourself to relax it hits you and I was like, 'I conscionable request to return a infinitesimal different I americium connected nan verge of a breakdown'.

"For nan first clip successful a agelong clip I figured retired wherever I was astatine mentally and I couldn't moreover deliberation astir nan Euros. That was a large parameter that I needed to backmost disconnected a small spot and conscionable breathe. For nan first clip I made a determination for maine and not to please different people.

"Taking nan determination successful nan summertime was by acold nan champion determination I person ever made and 1 that I americium really really proud of because it is not easy by immoderate means."

Over nan summer, Bright has had successful knee surgery and started counselling sessions. She now feels "back to life" and is "mentally and physically successful a amended place" arsenic nan caller Women's Super League play nears.

As skipper of WSL champions Chelsea, and having led England connected galore occasions, Bright has been nether immense unit connected and disconnected nan transportation and revealed she had to "look aft everyone and lead by example".

"If location are problems, I person to hole them," she explained. "I person to return attraction of people, I person to make judge my team-mates are capable to springiness their best.

"So erstwhile you are successful that activity domiciled you do person to springiness to different people, but you besides person to person a small spot near to make judge you are still doing what you request to do.

"By nan extremity of it, I had thing near to give, I was unhappy. I americium loud, bubbly, energetic and spontaneous. I felt for illustration I had mislaid that and really mislaid myself."

Bright put her problems and feelings to 1 broadside arsenic she helped Chelsea prosecute success.

But she admitted: "Throughout nan play it had been tough. When you are winning and everything is going well, everyone thinks life is each dandy and great, and sunshine and roses, but connected and disconnected nan transportation it was highly hard.

"Even though we were doing truthful well, location were truthful galore challenges that we had to look arsenic players. I felt for illustration each play I was putting small fires out."

In replacing Emma Hayes astatine Chelsea past summer, Sonia Bompastor possibly faced nan toughest task successful women's football.

But you wouldn't person guessed this aft a play successful which nan Blues won nan WSL, FA Cup and League Cup, and mislaid successful nan Women's Champions League semi-finals to Barcelona.

Despite only being nether nan guidance of nan Frenchwoman for a year, Bright has built a narration pinch Bompastor akin to what she had pinch Hayes, who near nan Blues to return complaint of nan United States women's nationalist team.

"To beryllium capable to acquisition that and person that narration pinch 2 abstracted managers is really special," added Bright.

"To still consciousness you person that open-door policy, I could spell to her for anything, and she has been astonishing passim nan summertime arsenic well.

"I cognize if I needed her, I could spell to her. You consciousness really fortunate to person that."

Bright said it was "really refreshing" to return to Chelsea training and is now raring to spell for nan caller campaign.

"I was eager to get backmost connected nan transportation and yet beryllium symptom free pinch my knee and it not rustle up aft each convention and I americium really capable to locomotion down stairs aft a reliable day," she added.

"I don't consciousness for illustration I ever mislaid nan buzz, but I was truthful drained that I was truthful fresh for a break. But now I americium truthful fresh for nan first crippled and get backmost retired there."

Having won nan past six WSL titles and claimed nan 2 cup competitions past season, Chelsea are nan ascendant unit successful women's football.

Before their play opener astatine Stamford Bridge against Manchester City connected Friday, 5 September, Bright said her broadside will not remainder connected their laurels, particularly having missed retired connected a coveted first Champions League.

"You can't guidelines still," she added. "You person to look astatine each facet of nan game, what we do and nan Chelsea model.

"We achieved a lot, but we didn't execute 1 point that we really want. We want to do it each again. We don't conscionable want that, we want everything. We want to beryllium moreover better.

"Every different squad has grown and is getting moreover stronger and each squad is going to want to triumph for illustration us.

"It's scary that we are going to different level, but that is nan breathtaking part."

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