Chloe Kelly said 2025 has been the “best year of my career” as she bounced back from a difficult end to her spell at Manchester City.

The 27-year-old, who is among the favourites to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year alongside teammate Hannah Hampton, was speaking to The Guardian on her sensational season and journey to that point.

Kelly made a public plea to City to release her from her contract after she was reduced to a bit-part player last year and her relationship with the club collapsed. She told The Guardian that “not being able to control what was happening in my career” made it a “dark time”.

“On reflection, I wish I spoke earlier,” she said, but she ultimately got the exit she wanted. She rejoined Arsenal in January, where she began her senior career, initially on loan before being signed permanently this July.

After the lows of 2024 in 2025 she won the Champions League with the Gunners and scored the decisive spot-kick in the Euros final as the Lionesses defended their title, with her personal contributions rewarded with a fifth-place finish in the Ballon d’Or Feminin.

“To bounce back, that’s what makes it the best year of my career,” Kelly said. “Taking charge of your own destiny is massive.

“After we won the Champions League, I said, write your own script, control your destiny, and I stick by that. Because I wasn’t in a position to do so for so long, but speaking out for what you believe in is huge.”

She gave a diplomatic answer when quizzed on the fallout from her former teammate, Mary Earps, releasing an explosive tell-all autobiography earlier this year, which detailed a rift with her replacement as Lionesses No 1 Hampton and England manager Sarina Wiegman.

Kelly said she hadn’t read the book and added: “I think, for me, I’m in a position where Hannah is my teammate, and we support our teammates. We support Mary, who was our teammate, too. Mary’s told her story. And, of course, in football, you don’t really see it too often, but I think, for me, Mary’s voiced herself.”

She also weighed in on one the biggest issues facing athletes at the moment, the regular torrent of abuse on social media - particularly as women’s football becomes more and more prominent.

She said: “There’s definitely misogyny when women are successful. People don’t like women being successful. People don’t like women being in an environment where maybe you don’t think we should be. We are exactly where we should be, and we’re here to stay. But I guess it’s a sign that we are being more successful than they wanted us to be.”