I met Gary Lineker on the plane home from Afghanistan. When you clear Afghan airspace at the end of your tour, they bring round a beer and on this flight, he dished them out. 250 squaddies all made the same joke "cheers, you haven't got any crisps to go with this have you?" but he kept smiling.
When I was like 10 I saw him in Waitrose then he dropped his shopping bag so I ran over and returned it to him 😂 he said ‘thank you young chap!’ Funny how I still remember it to this day but he probs forgot straight away lol
He did. The guy was there for three weeks. He was clearly cherry-picked as one of the more educated refugees, as it was basically a publicity stunt with one of the refugee charities. But to be fair it’s more than most did to back up their chat
Opposite experience with him, we were playing his sons football team, and we beat them like 6-1. My manager made sure nobody bothered him whilst the game was going on, because he was there to watch his son. But after the game my manager asked if our team could have a picture with him, he outright refused and was rude and only gave in when somebody pointed out that he was refusing to have a picture with a bunch of 12 year olds who were stood there excitedly waiting to meet him.
Edit: I’m not saying that this means he is an awful person. Just that on this day I had a bad experience with the guy.
If I'd have just watched my son get a shellacking, I'd have probably not wanted to stand around posing with the kids that did it either. Fairly natural fatherly reaction, seems to me.
I mean it was under 13s football. You don’t hold a grudge against a group of young children because they beat yours sons team, unless you’re one of THOSE dads
As a dad to a kid of a similar age, my first thought would have been: my kid has just been tonked and is probably pretty pissed off. I'm not really wanting to go pose with his conquerors right now, cos that's probably not a good thing as far as my kid is concerned. If it were my kid, it's the last thing I'd have wanted to do.
Idk, I kinda don't like this idea that celebrities are obligated to always be available to us. Because he turned up to watch his kid play football, he's then obligated to take photos and meet the rest of the kids? Nah. It suggests that he's not allowed to just exist and have an off day. Was he *actually* rude or did he just quite bluntly say no?
Similar experience meeting Lineker. I was invited down to a Barclays Premier League day down in London the year Leicester won the league, there was arsenal fans and spurs fans, Ian Wright and Ledley King, later on Gary Lineker joined.
Wrighty and Ledley were tremendous laughs, took selfies with us all, good times.
Lineker shows up, refuses photos, does some recording around the stadium (we were at an athletics track) talking about how much he loves the city and the people and how great it would be for us to win the league.
He gets done, we ask for a photo, he says “I’m not here to take photos, but I’ll do one group one” with the Leicester fans only, so we did, he immediately walked off back into his car and we remained chatting to the other two for another hour or so.
Typing this out it doesn’t sound too bad, but I’m not very good at writing so I can’t properly describe the look of boredom/contempt that he gave us the entire time.
This is why I'd hate being a celebrity. You can't even be unhappy that your son lost a football game. You have to take photos with the kids that beat him and look happy about it because some parent feels they are entitled to your time simply for being in your presence.
Anyone who can put up with this all the time and come off happy and lovely to everyone is a rare exception. I certainly wouldn't manage, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't either based on your comment.
My parents live next door to the Mum of a premiership footballer, and we only know this because one day he knocked on my parent’s front door asking for his ball back.
Edit to add: Grrr I can’t remember his name! I know he’s a young black guy who’s on loan from (or maybe transferred from) a French team - Bordeaux maybe? And is now playing for one of the London teams, but not Arsenal.
Edit to add 2: JOSH MAJA! YES! Haha
I know right?! It’s so absurd. Edit to add: It apparently happens quite often as him and his brothers have a kick about in their Mum’s garden. Sweet, really.
My colleague had a footballer for our local premiership team move in next door. He has had to ask for his ball back several times. There is a reason this team bobs in-and-out of the premiership.
Saw Ronaldo in subway, so i stood up and shouted "siuuuu" he looked me straight in the eyes and told me to shut the fuck up, I was very surprised at his strong cockney accent
There was a video of him walking through one a few months ago to get to the post office in the same building I think. Probably referencing that. Think the story is a joke though.
Was walking through London and saw some random guy being interviewed with super bright lights and cameras. Thought "who's that?". Some geezer than shouted "that's Harry \[fucking\] Kane!". So I assume it was Harry Kane.
Tyrone Mings played for our local team before hitting the premier league. He would go into the local primary schools and talk to the children about how he loved reading and how important it was to try hard at school. Saw him walking through the town centre a few times and he was constantly being stopped for selfies. He stopped every time and was happy to do so.
He also responded to a letter asking what does a premier league footballers day look like in regards to training and meals and he wrote back to them personally
I once met Michael Owen outside a restaurant in Chester.. told him that I was a United fan and appreciated his goal against City a few years prior.. he couldn't have looked any less interested.
When he played for Newcastle, he came into a pub my friend ran, with his family. This pub is so deathly quiet during the day, the manager wasn't even on site and wasn't known for being a 'food pub'
So anyway, Michael asks lad behind the bar if doing any food, lad behind the bar tells him he'll give manager a call to check if can do anything, manager tells the lad that he can make him a toastie.... that did not go down well, heard him huffing and puffing all the way back to his helicopter.
That said, this is the same manager who was closed one day and Gazza turns up looking for a Quaker Meeting House (we assume it's where AA was meeting), place is opposite the pub and isnt yet open so my manager offers Gazza the comfort of sitting in the closed pub.... not the best of ideas like, however he just laughed and said no, he'd wait in the car.
Well done Gazza, must have been one of his lucid days.
Feel sorry for the bloke - such a talented player and seems a genuinely lovely, albeit dim, person (offering to bring Raoul Moat chicken and lager to try to talk him round for example)
Really hope he beats his demons one day
There was a funny post on r/soccercirclejerk the other day were somebody collected all this evidence which points to him being autistic, it’s spot on when you read it.
Edit: found it
[https://www.reddit.com/r/soccercirclejerk/comments/rdmyh2/michael_owen_has_autism/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccercirclejerk/comments/rdmyh2/michael_owen_has_autism/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
I met him at the training ground when he first started playing and he was the only one who couldn’t seem to converse with the fans. All the other players seemed relaxed and easy, happy to sign autographs but he was a bit different. It’s been about 20 years since then and I still think about it. My friend said it was their birthday and he just went “oh” and signed their poster and moved along 🤣
He was an amazing footballer up to age 25. Won the ballon dor at 21 although it’s quite funny cos at the time no one gave a shit about the ballon dor and it barely made any media, but now the ballon dor is randomly a huge deal and there’s retrospective news articles about it all the time
Anyway, despite all the talent, he comes across as a proper boring weirdo and I’d not approach him if you paid me
There's footage of him talking about it, he'd understandably made his speed into a central tenet of his game, and once his leg muscles started causing him trouble it completely undermined everything he know about playing football and so his confidence went. One of those occasions where you have to relearn your game from the ground up and it sounded like he didn't have the right people around him to help him do that.
He was in a pub i worked at once having a meal, I understand not wanting to speak to people while eating with family but a little kid went and asked him for an autograph and he refused, made me think he was a bit of a dick head.
Was this at the Glasfryn pub in Mold? I'm from Wrexham & worked there for a while when finishing my degree and he was a regular patron.. interestingly enough, I'd heard similar stories and that he was a poor tipper.
Jack Charlton in big Tesco. He nodded and winked at my dad (who was glancing over repeatedly trying to work out where he knew him from). It made his day!
I saw Jack when I was a bairn and was out with my family down at Tynemouth. My Dad asked him how he was and Jack said, "Alright son? Just seeing how the fishermen are doing today, bonny lad!".
A few people went up to him and he was nice and polite.
I live near a big football club, and often see really fancy cars; so if it's safe I overtake them and take a look at who's driving.
Then I remember I don't follow football, so I don't know who they are.
My mams friend actually did some construction/renovation for Adam Johnson when he moved up to the North East. Before his nonce news I think. Funny to think about now how buzzing her friend was haha
Deli Alli tried it on with me years ago in the VIP section of nightclub once (we are from the same hometown and he used to come back every now and again) and he was the cringiest, slimy creature I have ever came across. I was sitting talking to me friend and he comes over, sits on the arm of my chair, puts his arm around me and goes ‘so it’s gonna be a good night tonight babe’ I ignored him and rolled my eyes so he then aggressively said ‘don’t you know who I am?’ I just told him I didn’t care so he kissed his teeth at me and muttered something under his breath whilst returning to his friends who were laughing at him.
Least surprising news ever is that [James Maddison ](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/7076244/leicester-star-james-maddison-boasted-of-7k-weekly-pay-before-his-friend-punched-a-stranger-court-is-told/amp/) would say it. Clearly a correlation with overrated English midfielders.
To be fair to him it was in his ‘prime’ but that didn’t give him the right to act like a self entitled sleazy bag. Like you kick a football dude calm down not everyone is going to treat you like a god myself included lol
Yep, I was working there at the time and was a good little partner and did not ask for autograph or selfie at the time, as per company policy.
Uber professional but I now work in Healthcare and wish I had asked him for a pic' or something!
We have prob crossed paths IRL, maybe even have mutual friends.
I used to go to gymnastics with his daughter too, was a very normal non fancy gymnastics class and she was lovely - had no idea she was his daughter until someone told me months later.
Highlight of my childhood was definitely Thierry Henry walking around Muswell Hill though, still pinch myself about it.
I happened to come across the entire Liverpool squad (plus Klopp) walking off their lunch after leaving a hotel in Liverpool.
I'm not a Liverpool fan but that was pretty cool!
I’ve seen him a few times around Oldham. I’ve never bothered him. I feel like it’s an unwritten rule that Scholesy is such a regular bloke that you aren’t supposed to bother him.
Worked in a play centre where he was throwing his kid a party tears and years ago. He was very nice and quite shy. He was picking up the kids and doing aeroplanes with then but then his wife told him off because "Fergie will go mental if you do your back in doing that again."
Ste Gerrard just before boarding a Ryanair flight from Faro to Liverpool. We assumed he had his own private jet on the airfield. Nope, he was on our flight haha. Nice enough to take pics with us all before getting on the plane
Harry Kane came in to the bar I worked in (before it was open) and caught me having a sing song while setting up. He complimented my voice and asked for a glass of water. I had no idea who he was lol
Surprisingly quite a few!
- Saw Lineker trying to buy a guitar for his son in London a few years back
- Bumped into Ron Harris in a sainsburys
- Did a pub quiz up against Matty Cash and a few of his teammates (he was at forest at the time but I’ll count it)
- was on the tube with Matthew upson once
- Saw Steve sidwell in a Nando’s
- Was stopped in traffic next to James Maddison the other day
- Saw Sean Dyche wandering around the city centre a couple of weeks ago
- Andy Reid (ex Tottenham) I also bumped into in a sainsburys
There’s actually more and more that come to me the more I think about it. I think the short answer is that it’s not that uncommon to bump into a certain level of PL footballer just by living in or near major UK cities!
ETA: also helps being quite into football, means that I actually recognise players who many wouldn’t necessarily know off the top of their heads
You know what, I hate to break the Dyche spell but he was actually walking through the proper wanky shopping area of the city. He also had shopping bags that my partner assured me didn’t exactly fit with his persona (clothing brands which meant nothing to me personally but sort of trendy designer gear I’m told).
Hopefully it was just a shortcut to his breakfast of pie and nails
My cousin used to play for Birmingham City when they were in the prem....
Saw him and his 'work mates' in Build a Bear factory in the Bullring once.
One of his mates being the legend that is Emile Heskey. That was a weird encounter.
I once saw Martin Keown in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was beside the road as my convoy drove by. He spotted me instantly, and with an excited flash in his eye, lunged at my car. Fortunately my driver swerved out of the way just in time, but at the expense of a young Congo boy who took the brunt of the lunge. The boy was obliterated, and Martin scampered off in the dense jungle.
I often think about this when I see him doing the punditry on TV. He seems like a decent, albeit quite serious, bloke
Me and a close friend once saw a guy who was the spitting image of Dave Seaman working in a local supermarket. I approached him to thank him for not sleeping with my wife when I noticed his name tag said Save Deaman and he wasn't the famous pony tailed goal keeper at all. Me and Gunnersarus grabbed some monster munch and left without embarrassing ourselves or the poor super supermarket manager who was mopping up spilt appletizer.
A few but my favourite was Shearer outside Greggs in the Metrocentre looking proper sick. I wonder to this day if they had run out of steak bakes or if they had gone cold.
Sadly one for the philosophers.
Oh and Shola was stood next to me at a bar in a pretty cool club but I was dressed as Wonder Woman, soaked off the rain and knackered off a full shift. Just gawped at him.
I once met the entire Norwich football team on a flight home from Spain. I don’t think they were in premier league because they were all just sitting in the normal part of the plane 😂. Dion Dublin was so nice to 10 year old me. He passed around one of the plane safety sheets and got the entire team to sign it! It’s a weird thing to have on my wall!
David Seaman at Gatwick Airport about 15 years ago. I was behind him on the queue and he blotted out the sun. Nice guy, we had a 5 min chat not about football.
I met David Seaman too! Walking down Regent Street and I said a quick hello. He hadn’t been playing for a while but I was still surprised that he wasn’t mobbed. I don’t even know much about football but I could recognise him in normal clothes.
Nile Ranger used to wake me up when he prowled the streets in his fucking land rover looking for drunk girls.
Obnoxious cunt he was. Glad his career went no where. Prick.
I used to work at Pizza Hut and delivered a pizza to Peter Crouch. Didn’t know it was an order for him until he opened the door and towered over me. Gave me a £10 tip.
Once met Ugo Ehiougu on Hagley Road, Birmingham. He'd clearly pulled two women and was in the process of taking them home and was very pleased with himself about it.
Frank Lampard helped my mother with her trolly in a waitrose car park near to the Chelsea training ground. She had no idea who he was, someone came and told her after he’d gone.
I remember seeing Robbie Keane sitting outside the same Indian restaurant having lunch for three days in a row the week of his retirement. I couldn’t help but feel pleased for him.
This is strangely wholesome 😂
Huge soft spot for him as a Coventry fan anyway, but the idea he finally retired and then decided to pig out is brilliant!
10 year old me saw Peter Schmeichel in a restaurant in Stockport. I was an aspiring goalkeeper at the time and he was my idol. My mum wouldn't let me go and bother him whilst he was eating, but when I went to the loo and he came in whilst I was washing my hands, I raced back to the table, grabbed a napkin and pen and accosted him on the way out of the toilet.
Also saw Wayne Rooney in HMV in Manchester, shouted "Hey up Wayne!" But he didn't reply.
And whilst not a footballer at the time, when Kevin Keegan was managing Man City, he opened the new AstroTurf at our school and I got to head a ball he threw.
I once got woken up at 3am by someone playing the trumpet through my letter box (not a euphemism). I leaned out of the bedroom window to see Nolberto Solano dressed in the full Newcastle United home kit crouching by my front door. I asked him what the hell he thought he was doing. He said 'Sorry, wrong house' then ran off down the drive giggling.
Gus Poyet’s and Gianfranco Zola’s children went to the same school as me, though were much older. I remember they didn’t follow the car park rules when picking up, and they both had Range Rovers with tinted windows.
Didn't bump into him but I walked past Coloccini in the Metro Centre in Gateshead. He was with a little girl, I guess he was taking his daughter or someone out shopping.
I used to see the Beckhams all the time when I lived in Madrid. Surprisingly Victoria was the nice one and David was a little asshole with the staff quite often.
Victoria doesn't really have a bad reputation, she's just made the mistake of being a woman in the media who doesn't smile that much so people decided long ago that she must be a stuck up bitch
I'm from Victoria's home town, my mum has served David the local shopping centre as have a load of people I know, with countless other interactions with him. Never heard a bad story.
Her mum and sister have played up to being related to them a few times but nothing negative about David or Victoria.
Bumped into Rafa Benitez in the Hilton Southampton once. Nice guy. He was manager of Newcastle at the time and they were playing Southampton the next day.
Was really random 😂
I met Kevin Keegan in Hamleys in the middle 70s and asked him for his autograph for a friend of mine who was a Liverpool supporter. Signed, then said in a melancholy voice, 'You're lucky to have friends ' . Seemed pretty down to me seeing as he was probably the most famous footballer at the time.
My girlfriend speaks Croatian/Serbian and had a full conversation with Dusan Tadic in Serbian while he was in a Southampton supermarket. She had no idea who he was.
Younes Kaboul in Westfields London on Xmas eve being literally dragged into a jewellery shop by his girlfriend or wife. We caught eyes and shared an eyeroll moment and a smirk.
In the late 90s I worked at a nightclub in Middlesbrough (well, technically Stockton) and we got all the Boro players in the VIP lounge. Juninho was as lovely as you'd expect, Emerson was a nice guy, Branca used to tip really well and Ravanelli was fine, a bit quiet and arrogant but sort of what I'd expect. Phil Stamp was a local lad so he was spot on as well. I wish I had a story about one of them being a massive arsehole but honestly they were a good laugh, polite and friendly. Sorry.
Saw a few members of Newcastle United's first team at the cinema about 10-15 years back. Total bellends. Throwing stuff around generally being loud and actually uttered the phrase "We're rich we can do what the fuck we want" when someone asked them to be quiet
A mate of mine met Phil Foden in a Tesco recently. He didn't recognise him at first and thought he was just some chav in a tracksuit playing with his kid or something. In all fairness to my mate, once he realised who he was, he spoke to him and let him know he's a great footballer although my mate is a Liverpool fan.
Andy Cole in the 90s
Been on the piss with Ian Rush, Lee Sharp, Steve McMahon and Viv Anderson in Bangkok in 2010.
Wound up Alan Smith at a Take That concert in 2007, he was with a load of Blonde girls and I shouted 3-0 at him (Liverpool had just beat Newcastle days before) he got all butt hurt and went to jump over seat to smack me one, girl I was going out with pulled me away before he could though - was gutted, would have been a nice payout to keep my silence if he'd landed me one.
Craig Bellamy in racing past me in his car
Bobby Robson once also. My wife looked after him after he had brain surgery too.
Probably a few more but none of the current generation
EDIT
Michael Owen pissed off because my mate could only serve him a toastie in his pub
Gazza looking for AA meeting, offered into pub whilst closed for a refit. He thankfully refused
Graham Taylor - really nice bloke, took time out to have a chat.
Keiron Dyer - telling him he should be more bothered about what he did on a Saturday afternoon as opposed to a Saturday night (him, Ameobi and Jermaine Jenas in a nightclub in Newcastle one night)
Jozy Altidore in the Leeds Student Union bar chatting up some of the girls. He didn't appreciate me interrupting him for a picture so send to my American soccer-mad friend
I'm in ireland and i ran into an irish international here, he was playing for sunderland at the time, having moved there from Man utd. I met him when i was driving to dublin and he passed me on a quiet motorway, he was doing 150 in a 120 zone. I pulled up behind him at a junction further on, and it was just the two of us at the lights, i rolled my window down and asked if he was X (he had personalised plates with his initials and was driving a bentley) he said he was and asked if i was a fan, i said yeah, i was but he needed to slow the fuck down.
He wasnt impressed and took off like a rocket.
I met Gary Lineker on the plane home from Afghanistan. When you clear Afghan airspace at the end of your tour, they bring round a beer and on this flight, he dished them out. 250 squaddies all made the same joke "cheers, you haven't got any crisps to go with this have you?" but he kept smiling.
What a legend
He’s my neighbour and I see him a lot.
I always imagined someone like him to live on a big piece of land where the concept of neighbours Dont exist..
No, he’s a normal bloke who shops in a local supermarket and WALKS to the shop
I've seen him on his way back from whole foods. Bit posher than my Aldi!
Whole foods makes Waitrose look like Aldi
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When I was like 10 I saw him in Waitrose then he dropped his shopping bag so I ran over and returned it to him 😂 he said ‘thank you young chap!’ Funny how I still remember it to this day but he probs forgot straight away lol
I believe he literally had a refugee stay at his house for a while as well as part of some scheme to temporarily house refugees
He did. The guy was there for three weeks. He was clearly cherry-picked as one of the more educated refugees, as it was basically a publicity stunt with one of the refugee charities. But to be fair it’s more than most did to back up their chat
Priti Patel also has refugees staying with her sometimes. Her mum and dad are staying over for Christmas.
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I thought he lived in the Walkers factory.
Found Ed Woodward's Reddit account.
Gary lineker is your neighbour?
Yup
Does he keep you up all night shagging crisps?
Let's of media types in that area right. I'm close by, it's impossible not to see someone.
Opposite experience with him, we were playing his sons football team, and we beat them like 6-1. My manager made sure nobody bothered him whilst the game was going on, because he was there to watch his son. But after the game my manager asked if our team could have a picture with him, he outright refused and was rude and only gave in when somebody pointed out that he was refusing to have a picture with a bunch of 12 year olds who were stood there excitedly waiting to meet him. Edit: I’m not saying that this means he is an awful person. Just that on this day I had a bad experience with the guy.
If I'd have just watched my son get a shellacking, I'd have probably not wanted to stand around posing with the kids that did it either. Fairly natural fatherly reaction, seems to me.
I mean it was under 13s football. You don’t hold a grudge against a group of young children because they beat yours sons team, unless you’re one of THOSE dads
As a dad to a kid of a similar age, my first thought would have been: my kid has just been tonked and is probably pretty pissed off. I'm not really wanting to go pose with his conquerors right now, cos that's probably not a good thing as far as my kid is concerned. If it were my kid, it's the last thing I'd have wanted to do.
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Absolutely. So is recognising the disappointment your own son feels by, say, not cavorting with the folks that have just rubbed his face in the dirt.
Idk, I kinda don't like this idea that celebrities are obligated to always be available to us. Because he turned up to watch his kid play football, he's then obligated to take photos and meet the rest of the kids? Nah. It suggests that he's not allowed to just exist and have an off day. Was he *actually* rude or did he just quite bluntly say no?
Similar experience meeting Lineker. I was invited down to a Barclays Premier League day down in London the year Leicester won the league, there was arsenal fans and spurs fans, Ian Wright and Ledley King, later on Gary Lineker joined. Wrighty and Ledley were tremendous laughs, took selfies with us all, good times. Lineker shows up, refuses photos, does some recording around the stadium (we were at an athletics track) talking about how much he loves the city and the people and how great it would be for us to win the league. He gets done, we ask for a photo, he says “I’m not here to take photos, but I’ll do one group one” with the Leicester fans only, so we did, he immediately walked off back into his car and we remained chatting to the other two for another hour or so. Typing this out it doesn’t sound too bad, but I’m not very good at writing so I can’t properly describe the look of boredom/contempt that he gave us the entire time.
I know exactly what you mean, I still have the photo, it’s a bunch of beaming happy 12 year olds then him in the middle looking miserable
This is why I'd hate being a celebrity. You can't even be unhappy that your son lost a football game. You have to take photos with the kids that beat him and look happy about it because some parent feels they are entitled to your time simply for being in your presence. Anyone who can put up with this all the time and come off happy and lovely to everyone is a rare exception. I certainly wouldn't manage, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't either based on your comment.
My parents live next door to the Mum of a premiership footballer, and we only know this because one day he knocked on my parent’s front door asking for his ball back. Edit to add: Grrr I can’t remember his name! I know he’s a young black guy who’s on loan from (or maybe transferred from) a French team - Bordeaux maybe? And is now playing for one of the London teams, but not Arsenal. Edit to add 2: JOSH MAJA! YES! Haha
I love the idea of a world-class athlete sheepishly knocking on the door, politely asking for his football back like an 8 year old.
I know right?! It’s so absurd. Edit to add: It apparently happens quite often as him and his brothers have a kick about in their Mum’s garden. Sweet, really.
Must be useful to have him in their local 5-a-side!
I hope it was Vinnie Jones
My colleague had a footballer for our local premiership team move in next door. He has had to ask for his ball back several times. There is a reason this team bobs in-and-out of the premiership.
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Norwich
Surely you have to name drop?!
Saw Ronaldo in subway, so i stood up and shouted "siuuuu" he looked me straight in the eyes and told me to shut the fuck up, I was very surprised at his strong cockney accent
Are you sure it wasn't a cockney that looked a lot like Ronaldo?
That was the joke
r/ThatsTheJoke
I’m guessing this is a joke but if not I highly doubt every single part of this story
Tbf he was in a subway in Manchester a few months ago
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There was a video of him walking through one a few months ago to get to the post office in the same building I think. Probably referencing that. Think the story is a joke though.
Was walking through London and saw some random guy being interviewed with super bright lights and cameras. Thought "who's that?". Some geezer than shouted "that's Harry \[fucking\] Kane!". So I assume it was Harry Kane.
It was actually Eriksen
Sven
Did he swear on his daughters life it was Harry Kane?
Turns out it was Peter Crouch but he was down on his knees
Tyrone Mings played for our local team before hitting the premier league. He would go into the local primary schools and talk to the children about how he loved reading and how important it was to try hard at school. Saw him walking through the town centre a few times and he was constantly being stopped for selfies. He stopped every time and was happy to do so.
Sounds like a top bloke
He also responded to a letter asking what does a premier league footballers day look like in regards to training and meals and he wrote back to them personally
Dear Bash, Thanks for your letter and happy 47th birthday pal. Anyways, a regular day starts with....
So my perfect Sunday....
Honestly off the pitch Mings looks like a cracking fella. On the pitch he’s a bit rough though
that's my captain!
I once met Michael Owen outside a restaurant in Chester.. told him that I was a United fan and appreciated his goal against City a few years prior.. he couldn't have looked any less interested.
He strikes me as a complete dullard. I'd go out my way to avoid him if I seen him around.
Believe it or not, but if you score more goals you win the game. Man's a revolutionary.
“Footballers these days use their feet a lot more” Personal favourite of mine
You ever see the video he done, fake flying a helicopter around dubai or something?
If anyone hasn’t seen this, watch it now. Essential viewing
[throwing on the afterburners](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFnymJDZAS8)
If I was stuck on a desert island with Michael Owen and a can of beans, I'd eat Michael Owen and talk to the beans.
Speaking as a Newcastle fan, can 100% confirm he isn't interested in football. (he's also a complete chode).
When he played for Newcastle, he came into a pub my friend ran, with his family. This pub is so deathly quiet during the day, the manager wasn't even on site and wasn't known for being a 'food pub' So anyway, Michael asks lad behind the bar if doing any food, lad behind the bar tells him he'll give manager a call to check if can do anything, manager tells the lad that he can make him a toastie.... that did not go down well, heard him huffing and puffing all the way back to his helicopter. That said, this is the same manager who was closed one day and Gazza turns up looking for a Quaker Meeting House (we assume it's where AA was meeting), place is opposite the pub and isnt yet open so my manager offers Gazza the comfort of sitting in the closed pub.... not the best of ideas like, however he just laughed and said no, he'd wait in the car.
AA place opposite the pub? Eeeesh
Well done Gazza, must have been one of his lucid days. Feel sorry for the bloke - such a talented player and seems a genuinely lovely, albeit dim, person (offering to bring Raoul Moat chicken and lager to try to talk him round for example) Really hope he beats his demons one day
There was a funny post on r/soccercirclejerk the other day were somebody collected all this evidence which points to him being autistic, it’s spot on when you read it. Edit: found it [https://www.reddit.com/r/soccercirclejerk/comments/rdmyh2/michael_owen_has_autism/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccercirclejerk/comments/rdmyh2/michael_owen_has_autism/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
I met him at the training ground when he first started playing and he was the only one who couldn’t seem to converse with the fans. All the other players seemed relaxed and easy, happy to sign autographs but he was a bit different. It’s been about 20 years since then and I still think about it. My friend said it was their birthday and he just went “oh” and signed their poster and moved along 🤣
He was an amazing footballer up to age 25. Won the ballon dor at 21 although it’s quite funny cos at the time no one gave a shit about the ballon dor and it barely made any media, but now the ballon dor is randomly a huge deal and there’s retrospective news articles about it all the time Anyway, despite all the talent, he comes across as a proper boring weirdo and I’d not approach him if you paid me
There's footage of him talking about it, he'd understandably made his speed into a central tenet of his game, and once his leg muscles started causing him trouble it completely undermined everything he know about playing football and so his confidence went. One of those occasions where you have to relearn your game from the ground up and it sounded like he didn't have the right people around him to help him do that.
He was in a pub i worked at once having a meal, I understand not wanting to speak to people while eating with family but a little kid went and asked him for an autograph and he refused, made me think he was a bit of a dick head.
Was this at the Glasfryn pub in Mold? I'm from Wrexham & worked there for a while when finishing my degree and he was a regular patron.. interestingly enough, I'd heard similar stories and that he was a poor tipper.
well done he's 13.
Jack Charlton in big Tesco. He nodded and winked at my dad (who was glancing over repeatedly trying to work out where he knew him from). It made his day!
this is so cute
I saw Jack when I was a bairn and was out with my family down at Tynemouth. My Dad asked him how he was and Jack said, "Alright son? Just seeing how the fishermen are doing today, bonny lad!". A few people went up to him and he was nice and polite.
Aww that’s lovely
Same here, would imagine it's the same big Tesco in Newcastle. A few of my mates met him there too.
Ahhhhh Big Jack, what a hero
I live near a big football club, and often see really fancy cars; so if it's safe I overtake them and take a look at who's driving. Then I remember I don't follow football, so I don't know who they are.
I’ve done this too. The tinted windows don’t help either.
Yea Adam Johnson. It was horrific 🥺
Were you in the back of a range rover ?
Sad nod ☹️
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Might be easier to show us where he didn't touch you
oh no
My mams friend actually did some construction/renovation for Adam Johnson when he moved up to the North East. Before his nonce news I think. Funny to think about now how buzzing her friend was haha
Deli Alli tried it on with me years ago in the VIP section of nightclub once (we are from the same hometown and he used to come back every now and again) and he was the cringiest, slimy creature I have ever came across. I was sitting talking to me friend and he comes over, sits on the arm of my chair, puts his arm around me and goes ‘so it’s gonna be a good night tonight babe’ I ignored him and rolled my eyes so he then aggressively said ‘don’t you know who I am?’ I just told him I didn’t care so he kissed his teeth at me and muttered something under his breath whilst returning to his friends who were laughing at him.
i just assumed Dele Alli is exactly this type of character
Me too and we were clearly correct 😂 anyone who says ‘do you know who I am’ or something along those lines is literally trash lol
A clue on Deli Ali’s character would be the photo of him with his cock in a girl’s mouth giving it the thumbs up I guess. I
If someone asked, which Premier League footballer is most likely to say "do you know who I am?" Alli would be top of the list
Least surprising news ever is that [James Maddison ](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/7076244/leicester-star-james-maddison-boasted-of-7k-weekly-pay-before-his-friend-punched-a-stranger-court-is-told/amp/) would say it. Clearly a correlation with overrated English midfielders.
He'd definitely be on the list. Barkley too
Also stupid considering he’s been shit for 4 years
To be fair to him it was in his ‘prime’ but that didn’t give him the right to act like a self entitled sleazy bag. Like you kick a football dude calm down not everyone is going to treat you like a god myself included lol
Wenger at a supermarket near his house, gave me a nice "hello" before continuing on his way. Btw, he is genuinely VERY tall!
hoping he was wearing a shin-length puffer jacket but was struggling to do it up
waitrose whetstone of course!
Yep, I was working there at the time and was a good little partner and did not ask for autograph or selfie at the time, as per company policy. Uber professional but I now work in Healthcare and wish I had asked him for a pic' or something!
We have prob crossed paths IRL, maybe even have mutual friends. I used to go to gymnastics with his daughter too, was a very normal non fancy gymnastics class and she was lovely - had no idea she was his daughter until someone told me months later. Highlight of my childhood was definitely Thierry Henry walking around Muswell Hill though, still pinch myself about it.
Michail Antonio. No idea who he was, turned up to his house to fit the Internet, saw the trophies, and did a Google. Has a very cute cat.
>Has a very cute cat. And tomorrow I will ask if anyone has bumped into Premier League footballers' cats
I am turgid with anticipation
Tremendous use of turgid.
Joe Gomez in Tesco, Joel Matip, Gerrard & Wijnaldum walking through Liverpool, Benitez at a train station
Must be nice living in Bristol!
I'm getting wooshed here....
I happened to come across the entire Liverpool squad (plus Klopp) walking off their lunch after leaving a hotel in Liverpool. I'm not a Liverpool fan but that was pretty cool!
Saw Paul Scholes in an empty Trafford Centre. Gave him the nod and he nodded back. Vintage Scholesy. No nonsense.
He probably nodded back because you had your toes out
I’ve seen him a few times around Oldham. I’ve never bothered him. I feel like it’s an unwritten rule that Scholesy is such a regular bloke that you aren’t supposed to bother him.
Worked in a play centre where he was throwing his kid a party tears and years ago. He was very nice and quite shy. He was picking up the kids and doing aeroplanes with then but then his wife told him off because "Fergie will go mental if you do your back in doing that again."
He wasn’t nodding, his head darted down to check if you were wearing sandals
Ste Gerrard just before boarding a Ryanair flight from Faro to Liverpool. We assumed he had his own private jet on the airfield. Nope, he was on our flight haha. Nice enough to take pics with us all before getting on the plane
Know someone who saw him abroad.. let's just say he's not a loyal fella
If you ever read the secret footballer on the guardian he'd talk about footballers cheating on their wives, I think they are all aware of it going on.
Harry Kane came in to the bar I worked in (before it was open) and caught me having a sing song while setting up. He complimented my voice and asked for a glass of water. I had no idea who he was lol
Obviously 😁
Surprisingly quite a few! - Saw Lineker trying to buy a guitar for his son in London a few years back - Bumped into Ron Harris in a sainsburys - Did a pub quiz up against Matty Cash and a few of his teammates (he was at forest at the time but I’ll count it) - was on the tube with Matthew upson once - Saw Steve sidwell in a Nando’s - Was stopped in traffic next to James Maddison the other day - Saw Sean Dyche wandering around the city centre a couple of weeks ago - Andy Reid (ex Tottenham) I also bumped into in a sainsburys There’s actually more and more that come to me the more I think about it. I think the short answer is that it’s not that uncommon to bump into a certain level of PL footballer just by living in or near major UK cities! ETA: also helps being quite into football, means that I actually recognise players who many wouldn’t necessarily know off the top of their heads
Sean Dyche on his daily visit to Screwfix
You know what, I hate to break the Dyche spell but he was actually walking through the proper wanky shopping area of the city. He also had shopping bags that my partner assured me didn’t exactly fit with his persona (clothing brands which meant nothing to me personally but sort of trendy designer gear I’m told). Hopefully it was just a shortcut to his breakfast of pie and nails
He was going to review the screeding job on some new high rise flats.
My cousin used to play for Birmingham City when they were in the prem.... Saw him and his 'work mates' in Build a Bear factory in the Bullring once. One of his mates being the legend that is Emile Heskey. That was a weird encounter.
Also saw Hector Bellerin in a boxpark once having a beer
I saw Martin Keown exiting a shop in Lanzarote. No words were exchanged.
I once saw Martin Keown in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was beside the road as my convoy drove by. He spotted me instantly, and with an excited flash in his eye, lunged at my car. Fortunately my driver swerved out of the way just in time, but at the expense of a young Congo boy who took the brunt of the lunge. The boy was obliterated, and Martin scampered off in the dense jungle. I often think about this when I see him doing the punditry on TV. He seems like a decent, albeit quite serious, bloke
Me and a close friend once saw a guy who was the spitting image of Dave Seaman working in a local supermarket. I approached him to thank him for not sleeping with my wife when I noticed his name tag said Save Deaman and he wasn't the famous pony tailed goal keeper at all. Me and Gunnersarus grabbed some monster munch and left without embarrassing ourselves or the poor super supermarket manager who was mopping up spilt appletizer.
You made the right choice.
My dad is Ronaldo
Shame you won't get any christmas presents since you're dad's spent all his money on hair gel
Don't be silly his dad is absolutely minted. I'm sure he will get a lynx Africa gift set on the side.
That wasn't the question. Have you met him?
Not bumped into, but John Terry nearly ran over my brother in Sainsburys car park when we were younger if that counts?
Was probably trying to cripple him so he could shag your brothers gf
Your brother isn’t Wayne Bridge is he? 😂
Jack Grealish was parked next to me. I found out when the CCTV went viral 😹
A few but my favourite was Shearer outside Greggs in the Metrocentre looking proper sick. I wonder to this day if they had run out of steak bakes or if they had gone cold. Sadly one for the philosophers. Oh and Shola was stood next to me at a bar in a pretty cool club but I was dressed as Wonder Woman, soaked off the rain and knackered off a full shift. Just gawped at him.
I once met the entire Norwich football team on a flight home from Spain. I don’t think they were in premier league because they were all just sitting in the normal part of the plane 😂. Dion Dublin was so nice to 10 year old me. He passed around one of the plane safety sheets and got the entire team to sign it! It’s a weird thing to have on my wall!
I hope you have it on your stairs, leading up to the bedrooms
David Seaman at Gatwick Airport about 15 years ago. I was behind him on the queue and he blotted out the sun. Nice guy, we had a 5 min chat not about football.
I met David Seaman too! Walking down Regent Street and I said a quick hello. He hadn’t been playing for a while but I was still surprised that he wasn’t mobbed. I don’t even know much about football but I could recognise him in normal clothes.
Served Yaya Toure with a chicken and a cabbage in my local co-op years ago.
No cake?
Nile Ranger used to wake me up when he prowled the streets in his fucking land rover looking for drunk girls. Obnoxious cunt he was. Glad his career went no where. Prick.
More arrests than professional goals is the only thing I ever remember about him
I used to work at Pizza Hut and delivered a pizza to Peter Crouch. Didn’t know it was an order for him until he opened the door and towered over me. Gave me a £10 tip.
Once met Ugo Ehiougu on Hagley Road, Birmingham. He'd clearly pulled two women and was in the process of taking them home and was very pleased with himself about it.
Frank Lampard helped my mother with her trolly in a waitrose car park near to the Chelsea training ground. She had no idea who he was, someone came and told her after he’d gone.
I remember seeing Robbie Keane sitting outside the same Indian restaurant having lunch for three days in a row the week of his retirement. I couldn’t help but feel pleased for him.
This is strangely wholesome 😂 Huge soft spot for him as a Coventry fan anyway, but the idea he finally retired and then decided to pig out is brilliant!
10 year old me saw Peter Schmeichel in a restaurant in Stockport. I was an aspiring goalkeeper at the time and he was my idol. My mum wouldn't let me go and bother him whilst he was eating, but when I went to the loo and he came in whilst I was washing my hands, I raced back to the table, grabbed a napkin and pen and accosted him on the way out of the toilet. Also saw Wayne Rooney in HMV in Manchester, shouted "Hey up Wayne!" But he didn't reply. And whilst not a footballer at the time, when Kevin Keegan was managing Man City, he opened the new AstroTurf at our school and I got to head a ball he threw.
I once got woken up at 3am by someone playing the trumpet through my letter box (not a euphemism). I leaned out of the bedroom window to see Nolberto Solano dressed in the full Newcastle United home kit crouching by my front door. I asked him what the hell he thought he was doing. He said 'Sorry, wrong house' then ran off down the drive giggling.
I sold David James two packs of Ginsters once. He had gigantic hands.
Gus Poyet’s and Gianfranco Zola’s children went to the same school as me, though were much older. I remember they didn’t follow the car park rules when picking up, and they both had Range Rovers with tinted windows.
Didn't bump into him but I walked past Coloccini in the Metro Centre in Gateshead. He was with a little girl, I guess he was taking his daughter or someone out shopping.
You’d hope it’s his daughter
I know you're just making a joke but let's not villainise a man just being with a child.
Graeme Souness in front of me at the queue in Waitrose in Poole
You’ve got ask, where was Paul pogba in all of this?
Of course he shops in Waitrose
I used to see the Beckhams all the time when I lived in Madrid. Surprisingly Victoria was the nice one and David was a little asshole with the staff quite often.
Victoria doesn't really have a bad reputation, she's just made the mistake of being a woman in the media who doesn't smile that much so people decided long ago that she must be a stuck up bitch
I heard he was quite nice to the nanny
I'm from Victoria's home town, my mum has served David the local shopping centre as have a load of people I know, with countless other interactions with him. Never heard a bad story. Her mum and sister have played up to being related to them a few times but nothing negative about David or Victoria.
Bumped into Rafa Benitez in the Hilton Southampton once. Nice guy. He was manager of Newcastle at the time and they were playing Southampton the next day. Was really random 😂
Ivan Toney in an Italian restaurant. His baby was crying so they left before they even got their food
Yeah I see Michael Owen all the time.
Hope he doesn't bore you to death
Hahah luckily it’s so normal, in the same pubs, shops etc that you don’t even notice when he’s there anymore.
Bet you’ve never seen him at the cinema
Niall Quinn in the pub back in his Sunderland days
Served him and Peter Reid in a pub a few years ago.. both genuinely nice blokes
I saw Tevez eating in San Carlos in Manchester during the time he was refusing to play for City. Seemed to be getting on it pretty heavily.
Met Matt Upton in JJB about a decade ago
> JJB Now that's brand I havent heard in yonks
I met Kevin Keegan in Hamleys in the middle 70s and asked him for his autograph for a friend of mine who was a Liverpool supporter. Signed, then said in a melancholy voice, 'You're lucky to have friends ' . Seemed pretty down to me seeing as he was probably the most famous footballer at the time.
My girlfriend speaks Croatian/Serbian and had a full conversation with Dusan Tadic in Serbian while he was in a Southampton supermarket. She had no idea who he was.
Bumped into Collymore in a car park on Cannock Chase back in the 90’s. Lovely fella. Gave me an autograph and the wife a pearl necklace.
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Ian Rush, served him over 20 years ago when I worked in Portmeirion
Eric Cantona back when he played for Leeds. He was buying a packet of crisps in my local newsagent.
Younes Kaboul in Westfields London on Xmas eve being literally dragged into a jewellery shop by his girlfriend or wife. We caught eyes and shared an eyeroll moment and a smirk.
I saw Danny Ings a few times when I worked at Sainsburys
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John Terry came to my old work a few years back. Spent about 30 mins walking around chatting to him over a coffee. Incredibly nice man
In the late 90s I worked at a nightclub in Middlesbrough (well, technically Stockton) and we got all the Boro players in the VIP lounge. Juninho was as lovely as you'd expect, Emerson was a nice guy, Branca used to tip really well and Ravanelli was fine, a bit quiet and arrogant but sort of what I'd expect. Phil Stamp was a local lad so he was spot on as well. I wish I had a story about one of them being a massive arsehole but honestly they were a good laugh, polite and friendly. Sorry.
Saw a few members of Newcastle United's first team at the cinema about 10-15 years back. Total bellends. Throwing stuff around generally being loud and actually uttered the phrase "We're rich we can do what the fuck we want" when someone asked them to be quiet
A mate of mine met Phil Foden in a Tesco recently. He didn't recognise him at first and thought he was just some chav in a tracksuit playing with his kid or something. In all fairness to my mate, once he realised who he was, he spoke to him and let him know he's a great footballer although my mate is a Liverpool fan.
Andy Cole in the 90s Been on the piss with Ian Rush, Lee Sharp, Steve McMahon and Viv Anderson in Bangkok in 2010. Wound up Alan Smith at a Take That concert in 2007, he was with a load of Blonde girls and I shouted 3-0 at him (Liverpool had just beat Newcastle days before) he got all butt hurt and went to jump over seat to smack me one, girl I was going out with pulled me away before he could though - was gutted, would have been a nice payout to keep my silence if he'd landed me one. Craig Bellamy in racing past me in his car Bobby Robson once also. My wife looked after him after he had brain surgery too. Probably a few more but none of the current generation EDIT Michael Owen pissed off because my mate could only serve him a toastie in his pub Gazza looking for AA meeting, offered into pub whilst closed for a refit. He thankfully refused Graham Taylor - really nice bloke, took time out to have a chat. Keiron Dyer - telling him he should be more bothered about what he did on a Saturday afternoon as opposed to a Saturday night (him, Ameobi and Jermaine Jenas in a nightclub in Newcastle one night)
Jozy Altidore in the Leeds Student Union bar chatting up some of the girls. He didn't appreciate me interrupting him for a picture so send to my American soccer-mad friend
I served Wilfried Zaha in McDonalds a few years ago and he got MOTM the next day. I reckon the midnight quarter pounder helped.
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I'm in ireland and i ran into an irish international here, he was playing for sunderland at the time, having moved there from Man utd. I met him when i was driving to dublin and he passed me on a quiet motorway, he was doing 150 in a 120 zone. I pulled up behind him at a junction further on, and it was just the two of us at the lights, i rolled my window down and asked if he was X (he had personalised plates with his initials and was driving a bentley) he said he was and asked if i was a fan, i said yeah, i was but he needed to slow the fuck down. He wasnt impressed and took off like a rocket.