Chelsea: Lucy Bronze opens up on ADHD and autism diagnosis

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Evening Standard

·19 Maret 2025

Chelsea: Lucy Bronze opens up on ADHD and autism diagnosis

The right-back was diagnosed with autism and ADHD while away on an England camp in 2021

Lucy Bronze says she has felt “so much better” about herself since being diagnosed with ADHD and autism four years ago.

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The Chelsea right-back, 33, is one of the most decorated players in the English women’s game, having won 22 major trophies for Liverpool, Manchester City, Lyon, Barcelona and the Blues.

But the Euro 2022 winner has recalled times growing up when she suspected she was different from many of her peers and reflected on the relief she felt when receiving diagnoses for autism and ADHD while away on a Lionesses camp in 2021.

Bronze, an ambassador for the National Autistic Society, told BBC Sport: “It was something I always knew about in a way. My mum had spoken about it from a very young age and noticed things in me.”

Struggling to read and spell, she was diagnosed with dyslexia while at school. She also found it difficult to sleep and was encouraged to write a journal before bed, but ended up writing “a book” each night.

She said that learning she had autism and ADHD “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 […] made me feel so much better.

“When I first joined up with England I could not speak to anyone. [I remember] Casey Stoney said to me: ‘You've never looked me in the eye when speaking to me’. 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. 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.”

When I first joined up with England I could not speak to anyone

Lucy Bronze

“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.”

Bronze added: It's important for everyone to understand the differences in people.

“People always say I’m so passionate about football. 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.

“People say they're worried about what I'll do when I don't have football, but I'll find something else. Even now with football, my head is everywhere with it because I'm so obsessed. Not even just playing but the boardroom, the coaching, the physios. I'm obsessed with it all.”