Bronze is the first English player to receive the award
Thursday 29 August 2019 22:50, UK
England defender Lucy Bronze has been named the UEFA Women's Player of the Year.
The 27-year-old, who has been with French club Lyon since 2017, was England's star performer at the Women's World Cup earlier this year when she won the Silver Ball as the tournament's second-best player.
The former Sunderland, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City full-back also scored one of the goals of the tournament in England's 3-0 quarter-final win against Norway.
Bronze was unable to attend Thursday's awards ceremony in Monaco, which followed the Champions League draw, because of her involvement for England against Belgium in a friendly in Leuven.
She beat Lyon team-mates Ada Hegerberg and Amandine Henry to the award.
Bronze is the first English player to receive the trophy which is voted for by the top coaches in the women's game and journalists.
She won the treble with Lyon before helping the Lionesses finish fourth at the World Cup in France.
Bronze said: "I'm ecstatic and super humbled to have won the award, up against two fantastic players.
"I want to say a huge thanks to the England team. We had a great summer and I don't think I would have won this award if it wasn't for them.
"It's the same with the Lyon team. We had an amazing season, we won the treble and any one of those girls could have won this award.
"I want to thank both teams for pushing me to become a better player and the player that I am today."
