Bright has been at Chelsea since December 2014. That means she has played her part in every major trophy in the club’s history, a remarkable achievement, and is well clear as our all-time record appearance maker.

As we continue to celebrate her triple century of Blues games, we have collated quotes from over the years from those who have known her best – her coaches and team-mates. Their words epitomise just how special Bright is, and how important she has been to our era of dominance in the English game…

Sonia Bompastor

When you speak about Millie, she is an example. She works really hard on the pitch. It’s really important to have leaders in the team. Millie has been one of those leaders and she’s such a great athlete, but also such a great person.

She is for sure one of the players in the squad who I rely on. She’s not the only one, but she is a leader in this squad.

Being consistent in a career makes the difference between the good players and the really high-level athletes. She is a really high-level athlete.

She is the leader of this team and this club, and she has the right mentality, bringing everyone with her on the pitch and outside the pitch.

Emma Hayes

Millie Bright is a special person in my life. She feels like a little sister to me, she really does. I had so many years journeying with her, from building Chelsea to winning titles, to watching her go through her own international career with England, from the highs of winning a European Championship to the lows of losing a World Cup final.

You can always count on her. As her manager you just know that, in the biggest games, she can cope with the pressure, she can cope with the expectation, she can be a vocal leader, she’ll organise people on the pitch, and she’ll drive a team on to stay in a game, mentally, at the crucial moments. That’s invaluable for a manager, to have somebody like that on the pitch.

I’ve watched her grow so much as a person and I admire how she absorbs information and learns on the training ground. She can take criticism; you could punch her in the chin and she’d probably say something like: ‘Okay, I’ll get better at it’.

When I think about the 21-year-old that signed for me from Doncaster Rovers Belles in December 2014 – she used to be a centre-forward, was quite clunky and was uncomfortable in possession. Her growth has been remarkable and it has been about her hard work.

Nowadays she is driving out from centre-back areas, she can ping a ball left and right on the diagonal, she can play it short, she wants the ball under pressure and she has become a top player in possession of the ball. And defensively, she is difficult to play against, too.

Magdalena Eriksson

What makes Millie so special is her mentality. She has a rock-solid mentality. She works the hardest of everyone in every training session. In everything she does, she applies herself 100 per cent.

Millie is a player you can really count on. You know what you’re going to get from her in every moment. It doesn’t matter what the occasion, how big the occasion is, she’s a solid person in the team that will perform.

Erin Cuthbert

She’s a bit of a brute, I play with her in training every single day and I try my best to avoid her every single day! But she’s a top player and a top leader and a great friend.

Claire Rafferty

Playing FA Cup finals and other big games, she is so reliable. She had her music on, dancing around, but then suddenly - focus. She was mature for her age. I just thought, she's not human, the way she deals with things.

Millie is never visibly nervous. I got quite nervous, quite fidgety, but Millie took everything in her stride. She doesn't take life too seriously - her priority is her family, her dogs. She wants to do her best on the pitch, of course she does, but not get swept up in things.

Carly Telford

Millie does all of her talking on the pitch. She leads the team in the way she trains. You can't not want to fight for Millie.

Millie puts her effort and work in on the pitch and leads that way. She knows how to galvanise the girls on and off the pitch.

Bethany England

As a player on the pitch she is a force to be reckoned with. I have been on the back end of many Millie Bright tackles and clatterings in my time!

She just brings a great presence to the team in knowing that she leads the back line well, and she is so confident and physical that most strikers would probably fear coming up against her, because of the brute force she puts through you. Or maybe that is just me!

Karen Carney

Millie leads by example. She will put her body on the line and give everything from start to finish. She is fearless and will spend the entire game encouraging team-mates, who see how much effort she is putting in and react, knowing she is setting the tone for everyone else.

Bright reads the game incredibly well and is a commanding presence who organises everyone around her. I will always remember her for the things that go unnoticed and judge her on the work she put in when no one was watching except her team-mates.

We shared some great moments on the pitch, but my stand-out memories are of her always being in the gym, doing her recovery to the letter, eating well and giving everything in training – she left everything out on the pitch.