Chelsea and England defender Millie Bright ruled herself out of contention for England’s Euro 2025 squad as the Lionesses prepare to defend the title they won in 2022
Millie Bright’s former team-mate Fran Kirby has hailed the Chelsea star for her bravery over putting her physical and mental health above playing for England. Bright pulled out of this summer’s European Championships at the eleventh hour after admitting she was “not able to give 100 per cent mentally or physically”
Kirby, who played with Bright at Chelsea before moving to Brighton last year, will also miss out after announcing her international retirement. She insists the timing of multiple withdrawals is a coincidence, with Mary Earps hanging up her international gloves in May,
“You don’t just wake up one day and go, ‘right, okay, that’s if I’ve had enough’. And obviously Millie’s come out and spoken about her mental health, which I think is really, really brave. To make that decision, to put that first,” Kirby said at an event hosted by leading ticket marketplace, viagogo..
“Now she’s had the knee surgery as well to make sure that she’s ready for next year. Obviously Mary has her reasons. For me, I will just respect everything that they’ve done when they put on an England shirt and the way that they’ve paved the way for the younger players coming through who have learned off those players in that environment
England will begin their Euros campaign against France on July 5, followed by further group stage matches against The Netherlands and Wales. While some fans might have been surprised by the three high-profile decisions on the eve of the tournament, Kirby doesn’t see it that way.
READ MORE: Fran Kirby names four leaders pivotal to Lionesses’ Euros defence after key withdrawalsREAD MORE: How Sarina Wiegman reacted to England star’s retirement on eve of Euros title defence
“I think football has taught me to never be surprised, to be honest,” she added. “I wouldn’t say it was a surprise, I would just say it was a case of ‘okay, like they’ve made that decision and I respect it’ because I was also in the same path,”
“So maybe another player would say differently, because if they’re going to their first tournament, or they’re doing X, Y and Z. So I wouldn’t say it was a surprise. And obviously I will never know the ins and outs of conversations that have been had, I only know about my own situation. But I think, like I said earlier, I think when someone makes that decision, it’s for a reason.”
Kirby’s own international retirement came after more than a year of consideration. She insists the closeness to Earps’ and Bright’s decisions was coincidental, and that she wanted to tell her team-mates on her own terms rather than allowing speculation to take hold.
“It’s always going to be news when players retire from their national team and obviously when you have Mary who’s been a massive advocate of the women’s game making that announcement,” she added. “I remember I was in my bedroom and I was like ‘oh no!’ because it was already a thought in my mind that it was going to be a possibility as well,”
“But everyone has the moment that they want to make that announcement and they make that decision you know as players we respect it. You always respect when you’ve given so much to the game and so much to your country for such a long time, you only make that decision if you know 100 per cent it’s the right decision to make.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
