The 33-year-old defender – who was diagnosed with ADHD and autism four years ago – was a “painfully shy” child so loved participating in sport because she didn’t have to speak to others but still got a sense of belonging.

She told the new issue of Women’s Health magazine: “I fell in love with football because I loved that [my brother Jorge] did it – and then I loved being in a team.

“I was painfully shy and sport was the only way I knew how to connect with people. You already have a common ground of: you’re playing football and you want to win.

“You don’t need to say anything else; you don’t need to explain yourself. I think that’s why I love sport so much, because it was obvious what I was trying to do without even speaking.”

While Lucy’s mum hadn’t pursued a diagnosis when she felt her daughter was neurodivergent as a child, the Chelsea player realised a lot about herself when she received a psychologist’s report confirming her ADHD and autism.

She said: “Mum put it in such a positive spin that I never saw it as a negative. She’d say, ‘How you act is just you, you’re Lucy and that’s part of you.’

“But then reading the [the psychologist’s report] I was like, ‘Wow, this is me. This is why there have been so many times where people don’t get what I’m trying to say and how I’m coming across.’

“I always speak about being misunderstood – and I think that I was misunderstood by myself, as well.”