This is the emotional moment Lucy Bronze consoled her close friend Ona Batlle after England came from behind to beat Spain and retain their Women’s Euros crown.
Bronze started every game of the tournament but was forced off in extra-time before the Lionesses went on to win 3-1 in a nerve-shredding penalty shootout.
At 33 years, eight months and 30 days, Bronze was her side’s oldest player at the tournament and she was again front and centre of a record-setting triumph.
Chloe Kelly proved herself the hero for her country again by slotting home the winning spot-kick after Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmati saw their efforts saved by goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, while Salma Paralluelo skewed off target.
Jubilant celebrations saw Kelly’s team-mates flood onto the pitch to begin the party, but Bronze took a moment to escape the hubbub and made a beeline for Batlle.
Inseparable on and off the pitch, the two friends high-fived before sitting down on the pitch, seemingly discussing the pulsating showdown that had played out in Basel.
England hero Lucy Bronze consoled her close friend Ona Batlle after the Euro 2025 final
Bronze (left) and Batlle (right) sat down on the pitch during the wild final whistle celebrations
The roles were reversed after the World Cup final in 2023, when Batlle comforted Bronze
Once the madness had died down, Bronze, kitted out with her gold winner’s medal around her neck, took a stroll with Batlle, who had changed into her tracksuit.
The roles were reversed back in 2023 after Spain got the better of England in the World Cup final, when Batlle consoled a tearful Bronze after full-time.
The duo were all-conquering team-mates in the 2023-24 season when they were at Barcelona, and they struck up a blossoming friendship, too. They also won the Champions League, Liga F, the Spanish Cup and Spanish Super Cup together.
Bronze then completed a move back to England with Chelsea last summer.
Bronze, 33, and Batlle, 26, enjoyed a holiday together ahead of Euro 2025 in Switzerland, sharing photos of the trip across their social media profiles.
It appeared the duo were celebrating Batlle’s birthday, with the Spaniard’s caption on Instagram reading: ‘Bday week.’
One photo shared online showed them enjoying an ice cream in the sun, while another saw them relaxing on a lilo together in the sea. Bronze and Batlle also took a boat trip on their vacation and spent time together in a private pool.
Their holiday this summer was by no means their first. Last Christmas, Batlle posted snaps of the two at Disneyland Paris, with the caption: ‘What a magical place’.
The duo enjoyed a summer holiday together just weeks before the tournament in Switzerland
It was by no means their first trip together – with the pair visiting Disneyland last Christmas
The former Barcelona team-mates shared photos from Disneyland and at the Eiffel Tower (left)
Bronze, now of Chelsea, and Batlle played together at Barcelona during the 2023-24 season
They were forced to set their friendship aside for the nerve-shredding final on Sunday night
Bronze tends to keep her personal life very private. Hailing from Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, she was brought up bilingual thanks to her Portuguese father and was exposed to football from a very early age by her older brother, Jorge.
Incredibly, she revealed she had played all of Euro 2025 with a fractured tibia.
‘I’ve actually played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia but no one knew,’ she said after the game. ‘Then I’ve just hurt my knee today on the other leg.
‘I think that’s why I got a lot of praise from the girls after the Sweden game because I’ve been in a lot of pain, but that’s what it takes to play for England.
‘That’s what I’ll do. They know that, I think we inspire each other by playing through things like that, and they got us to the end of them in the end. It was very painful but I’m gonna party and gonna enjoy it, that’s it.’
Head coach Sarina Wiegman paid tribute to Bronze, saying: ‘Her mentality, the whole team has an incredible mentality, but she has a crazy mentality, it’s unbelievable.’
