All about perspective for miracle woman Mustaki 

It took until last year for the senior cap she craved to arrive, her route disrupted by chemotherapy, ACL injuries, studies in France and various other diversions.

LIFE EXPERIENCES: Chloe Mustaki poses for a portrait during a Republic of Ireland women's media conference. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Too much trauma and consequential perspective has been accrued by Chloe Mustaki to dwell on a Manchester United goal coming from her deflection.

Her newly-promoted Bristol City had been frustrating WSL title contenders United at home on Sunday until Hinata Miyazawa’s speculative long-range drive diverted off the Irish international to wrongfoot goalkeeper Olivia Clark.

That 50th minute breakthrough was soon followed by Nikita Parris' finish to inflict a sixth defeat in eight on the Robins. They are rooted to the foot of the table, level with West Ham United.

If that constitutes a grim outlook for the 28-year-old, she’s not treating it as such. 

This was the talented defender who captained Ireland at the U19 Euros nine years ago but within a month of returning from Norway was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

It would take until last year for the senior cap she craved to arrive, her route disrupted by chemotherapy, ACL injuries, studies in France and various other diversions such as employment in the recruitment sphere.

Also in 2022, Bristol offered her a second cut at cracking England – she’d been briefly with Charlton Athletic – and promotion and a two-year contract followed.

While she’s got a mental clock ticking in her brain, the expectations around top-flight exposure are couched in reality. 

Injuries, like that suffered by Brooke Aspin on Sunday, are her best pathway to mixing it with the world’s top strikers like Sam Kerr and Vivianne Miedema.

“Sitting on the bench is probably like, in moments, a little bit harder for me than maybe if I was 21 years of age because I’ve had years of work experience that maybe I only have five years of my career left, at best,” explains the left-sided defender.

“If I had 10 years of my career, I’d be a lot more content with not playing every week. But I have to put things in perspective.

“I’ve only been playing full-time football for a year and a half, so what can I do? I have no regrets.

“Life has brought me through these experiences and I can’t change that. I’m pretty fortunate that I’ve been able to play full-time football – for however long, I don’t know – but I’m happy enough where I’m at and I just have to enjoy it while I can.” 

Mustaki didn’t need to be as bright as she is to appreciate the fickleness of football.

England is where it’s at as a magnet for global talent but there’s a road to run for the WSL to guarantee financial longevity.

Asked if she sacrificed a pay cut to leave her post as an executive search specialist to follow her football dream, the reply is emphatic.

“Yeah, massively,” she notes. “I was happy to do that. I got all my education and work experience under my belt, had some savings from working in a pretty difficult but financially rewarding job and wanted to enjoy myself for a couple of years and see where it took me.

“That has got me to the WSL this season and we’ll see about next season. It’s difficult but if you’re 21 years of age and you’re starting at the bottom of the WSL, by the time you’re 25 you could be earning so much more.

“It depends what age you are and what club you’re at. For me, the aim is not to play for Chelsea; the aim is to get better and enjoy life in the WSL, earn enough money to be worth it and see how long that lasts. I’m not deluded in the sense that I’m not at this point in my career playing for Barcelona or Chelsea – that’s not my aim. Everyone’s different.” 

Her context applies to the international landscape. Ciara Grant, Claire O’Riordan and herself were the only three outfield players of the 23-player squad not to get a minute at the World Cup in July.

“The World Cup was an interesting experience for me because, if you look back at my season last year, I stepped away as I had a really serious pubic [bone] injury,” she rationalized.

“I was out from December to the beginning of April, so to even make it to the World Cup was a miracle.” 

Mustaki is the star of the squad when it comes to performing those.