England star Lucy Bronze opens up on autism and ADHD and how diagnoses helped her on the pitch

Bronze has almost every accolade in women’s football and spoke for the first time about her neurodivergence

Lucy Bronze believes her neurodivergence played to her advantage in light of her late diagnoses of autism and ADHD.

With 22 major titles under her belt, the England and Chelsea star has nearly won everything there is to win in women’s football, including a famous Euro 2022 triumph with the Lionesses.

However, while she had already gone on to inspire millions in her professional career, she was still yet to discover something seismic about herself.

Lucy Bronze has been at the heart of Chelsea’s success this season (The FA via Getty Images)

She and her family had always had their suspicious, but it wasn’t until four years ago that Bronze was officially diagnosed with ADHD and autism.

"It was something I always knew about in a way," she told BBC Sport. "My mum had spoken about it from a very young age and noticed things in me.

"It didn't change anything essentially, but it was a bit of an eye opener.

"I just learned more about myself, understood why in certain situations I saw things differently to other people or acted in a different way to other people.

"Getting to sit down and actually speak through my traits and how it affects me, situations that make me feel good or bad, that was the thing that really clicked in my head and made me feel so much better."

Bronze revealed her struggles during her early career as she tried to mask her autism by copying others - a common trait according to the National Autistic Society that can be hugely damaging to mental health.

It would take the support of teammates, friends and family to accept who she was and understand what makes her feel uncomfortable.

"When I first joined up with England I could not speak to anyone," Bronze added.

"[I remember] Casey Stoney said to me, 'You've never looked me in the eye when speaking to me', and I was like, 'It's not because of you, it's me'.

"I would watch Jill [Scott] and how she speaks to people. I thought I'd copy her a bit. I'm better at it now but I feel a bit uncomfortable sometimes.

Bronze struggled to accept her differences when she first joined the England setup (The FA via Getty Images)

"Hugging people, making eye contact when you speak, those two things I had to learn because they're seen as the norm, and I found them so difficult.

"I've got to a point now where people know I don't like hugs, so they don't judge me for not doing it.”

A challenge Bronze has faced since childhood is her “100mph brain”, which always meant she found it hard to get to sleep.

However, the 33-year-old has found that some of her differences have become strengths that set her apart from the rest, helping her stay at the top of her game for so long.

"How I process things, being super-focused. People always say, 'Oh, you're so passionate about football'," Bronze said.

"I don't know if I'd say I'm passionate, I'm obsessed. That's my autism, it's my hyper-focus on football.

"Something that is really good for ADHD and autism is exercise. Having that focus, something to do, keeping moving.

"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?' All the things I have because of autism have worked in my advantage."