As England Women prepare to jet off to the World Cup in France this week, they can have no better tour guide than Lucy Bronze.
The 27-year-old crossed the Channel in 2017, swapping the sky blue of Manchester City for the dark blue of Lyon, the city that will stage the World Cup final on Sunday 7 July.
Bronze has been a revelation for the French giants, helping Reynald Pedros’s side claim back-to-back Champions League titles, the latter success coming just two weeks ago.
But Bronze, arguably the best right-back in the women’s game, had her doubts before taking the plunge.
“I risked everything,” she said.
“I moved away to a team where I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t know the language, I don’t really know the country, I didn’t know Lyon as a place.
“But I just wanted to succeed. I wanted to win the Champions League and I knew the opportunity I was getting at Lyon was one I couldn’t turn down.
“Not many people get the opportunity to play [for] the best team in the world. I got offered that opportunity and I took it with both hands.
“It was hard. It was hard to leave England and it was hard to settle in. But by the end of the season I had a Champions League medal [and] I had improved as a player and as a person. It didn’t turn out to be that big a risk.”
Bronze was speaking as one of the subjects of ‘England’s World Cup Lionesses’ a documentary which aired on BBC One on Sunday night.
WATCH ‘ENGLAND’S WORLD CUP LIONESSES’ ON iPLAYER
The Beeb were given unfettered access to Phil Neville’s squad as they ramped up their preparations for France 2019.
The film crew followed the squad to a training camp in Qatar in January and then the SheBelieves Cup in America in March.
As well as Bronze, the documentary also focuses on Jill Scott, Leah Williamson, Jordan Nobbs, Millie Bright, Karen Carney and Nikita Parris, and is fronted and narrated by former England defender Alex Scott.
