‘You have to make hay while the sun shines off the pitch. Chloe’s got people around her who won’t allow it to affect her football’ Lucy Ward on Chloe Kelly’s hero status

One of the enduring images of the sporting summer this year was Lionesses hero Chloe Kelly’s swaggering post-Euros celebration.

“The first time was so nice, we had to do it twice,” she told the cameras as she showed off her second Euros medal.

And for the second time, the Arsenal forward had landed the killer blow on the Lionesses’ opponents, following up her Euro 2022 final extra-time winner against Germany with the decisive penalty in the Euro 2025 shootout against Spain.

Why Chloe Kelly can handle mainstream fame

Since that moment, Kelly has hit the mainstream and become one of England’s most famous footballers. Her England shirt is a bestseller, and she became the early favourite to claim this year’s Sports Personality of the Year, following Beth Mead, who clinched the award after Euro 2022, and Mary Earps, the winner after the 2023 World Cup.

Golfer Rory McIlroy won the Masters after more than a decade of trying, and Lando Norris could still finish 2025 as Formula 1 world champion, while Luke Littler became global darts king at 17, but all have trailed Kelly in the odds, so inspirational was her role in Switzerland.

She’s even been talked about as a contender for September’s Ballon d’Or Feminin alongside Mariona Caldentey, Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmati and Alessia Russo.

“You have to make hay while the sun shines off the pitch, and I think she’ll do that,” pundit Lucy Ward tells FourFourTwo.

“She needs to take advantage of that – all players do while they’re marketable. But she’s also got people around her who won’t allow it to affect her football.

“Arsenal have recruited well, so they’ll be thinking ‘Right, we need to take the WSL title off Chelsea’, plus they’ve got the Champions League to retain, too.”

Kelly was back in domestic action last weekend and quickly proved that her summer success has not become a distraction, as she netted Arsenal’s second goal in their 4-1 opening weekend victory over newly promoted London City Lionesses.

On the domestic front, the 27-year-old will be hoping to break Chelsea’s WSL stranglehold, while the Lionesses return to action with a Wembley friendly against China in November before turning attention turns to qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.