England footballer Lucy Bronze has told Sky News that 99.9% of female players couldn’t afford to retire and live off their earnings.
The Chelsea player, 33, said that while she has been “smart with my money” and could afford to “retire and live on my investments”, most in the women’s game can’t.
When asked if a female player can afford to retire, Bronze said: “The 1% probably can. If you’re smart with your money and live a certain kind of lifestyle, then there’s potential.
“I don’t live a crazy lifestyle with crazy cars or houses. So I could retire and live on my investments.
“I’ve been smart with my money, I’ve paid off student loans throughout my career.
“I know I’ve been successful in teams with a lot of money… I’m probably in that top per cent.”
But the right-back added: “Probably 99.9% of women’s players… you have to think about life after football.”
It comes after former England captain Steph Houghton told the BBC on Friday she was only paid £4,000 a year at Arsenal.
Bronze is taking on Liverpool on Sunday, followed by Manchester City next week, in a crucial clash in the Super League title race.
Manchester City are currently top, four points ahead of Chelsea in the table.
She said her side is “fully focused” and believes “if we play our good game we can beat any team that’s out there”.
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Asked if life changed after the Lionesses won the Euros in 2022, she said she had already received some level of recognition before that.
“I didn’t have to go from 0 to 100 overnight. I had a steady buildup throughout my career,” she said.
“Winning the Euros – it changed things, but I’d already had that experience.”
Bronze also said it was hard playing for Spanish club Barcelona after the Lionesses lost 1-0 to Spain in the World Cup final last year.
“The first two days [there] was a bit of awkwardness in the air… walking into a Spanish club,” she said.
“It was difficult going back to Spain. When we left Australia, we had a week off then. To go back to Barcelona… walking in and getting commiserations while the person in front of us and the person behind us was getting celebrated for winning the World Cup [was hard].”
