Soccer

JAMES COLLINS has revealed how he signed a contract with a Premier League club — only to rip it up 20 minutes later in a classy gesture.The Wales icon, 41, spent 14 of his 20 professional careers playing in England’s top flight for West Ham and Aston Villa.James Collins signed a deal with a Premier League club before ripping it up 20 minutes laterCredit: XThe incident occurred after Collins left West Ham in 2018Credit: Getty Images – GettyAfter starting in the lower divisions with Cardiff, Collins joined West Ham in 2005.He played 65 times for the Hammers before joining Villa in 2009.But after 108 games, Collins returned to West Ham in 2012 and became a stalwart in defence with 149 outings.He was released in 2018 after his contract expired.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLAnd that opened the door to a sensational return to Aston Villa.Dean Smith had just taken over as manager and offered a short-term deal to Collins, who had already been training at the club to maintain his fitness.Delighted with the outcome, the centre-back eagerly penned his documents before joining teammates for his first official training session.But after neglecting to warm up, Collins immediately suffered an injury as he popped his calf while sprinting.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSThe veteran knew it would keep him out for several months — nearly the same amount of time as his Villa deal.And in a heartwarming gesture, Collins went straight up to Smith before insisting his recently-penned contract be ripped up.Football icons’ strange hobbiesCollins had already spent time at Aston Villa earlier in his careerCredit: GettyIt saw Collins miss out on a dream return to Villa Park, with the defender eventually joining Ipswich before retiring at the end of the 2018/19 season.Collins told Peter Crouch’s podcast: “You’re only going up there to train. Dean Smith gets the job, JT goes in with him.“So I spoke to JT, he said ‘carry on coming up and we’ll have a look at you’. “I felt good doing a bit of training, they offered me a contract. It was going to be a two, three-month contract.“This is how mad it is as a footballer. I had to sign it on the Thursday to be on the bench for the Saturday.“I signed it Thursday about 10.20am. I’m signing it, stuff like that, so by the time I’ve signed and gone out for training, the boys have started their warm ups and they’re on the sprints.“So I thought me being old, I’ll go straight into the sprints. I did a sprint and popped my calf.I thought I can’t sign a four-month contract and be injured for two of themJames Collins“I’ve just signed this contract for Villa, so I went over to Dean Smith and JT and went, ‘boys I’ve just popped my calf’.“Because I’ve done my calf so much I knew it was quite bad. I went running quick and ripped the contract up because I knew I would only sign for three, four months.“I did love my time at Villa and they were really good to me. But I thought I can’t sign a four-month contract and be injured for two of them.“I was technically a Villa player. I went to Smith, ‘look, I can’t do that to you because I could be out for two months’. READ MORE SUN STORIES“I ran back in to the secretary and said, ‘have you sent that contract off yet?’ She went, ‘no’, so I went ‘we’re going to have to rip it up, I’ve just pulled my calf’.“I could have sat there, I knew my calves could have been two or three months, their contract wasn’t (long) so I said, ‘let’s rip it up, I can’t do that to you’. Then I went, got fit and ended up at Ipswich.”James Collins’ football careerCardiff, 2000-2005: 86 games, 6 goalsWest Ham, 2005-2009: 65 games, 2 goalsAston Villa, 2009-2012: 108 games, 6 goalsWest Ham, 2012-2018: 149 games, 7 goalsIpswich, 2018-2019: 6 games, 0 goalsWales, 2004-2016: 51 games, 3 goalsTrophies: League One play-offs, FAW Premier Cup (Cardiff) More

FRANK LAMPARD has been slammed by Everton star Abdoulaye Doucoure who felt he was “disrespected” by his former boss.Doucoure fell out of Lampard’s plans at the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign, having initially featured prominently when Lampard first took charge.Abdoulaye Doucoure believes Frank Lampard made a mistake with himCredit: PALampard dropped Doucoure and later had a fall out with the midfielderCredit: RexDoucoure said the situation almost forced him out of the clubCredit: AlamyThe midfielder was dropped after starting the opening match of the season and did not start another Prem game until Lampard was sacked in January 2023.Doucoure returned to the side under Sean Dyche and felt the impact he made proved Lampard made the wrong decision.He criticised his former boss in an interview with The Overlap, saying: “He did not trust me. I really do not understand because this was my worst experience with the manager. Every manager started me, every manager trusted me.”Frank Lampard was the only one who did not trust me and I think he made a mistake with me.READ MORE IN FOOTBALL”He was not fair with me. He left me on the bench for so many games and did not give me a chance. It upset me with him. There was no communication between me and him.”He didn’t trust me and I think he made a mistake. I think I proved him wrong after that because under the new manager Sean Dyche I was the difference maker in the team.”I think for him he was a great player, but as a manager with Everton it was a big lesson for him and I think he learned from that.”Doucoure revealed his situation under Lampard meant he almost left the club, particularly after he was made to alone or with the Under-21s following a bust-up with Lampard.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSHe continued: “Because of my relationship with him I was pushing away, I was nearly out of the club, because I can’t sit on the bench. I need to play.”It was sad for me… he pushed me away, I was training with the U21s.How Liverpool’s genius offside-buster gives them HUGE edge over Everton”After one home game there was a big argument between me and him and the day after they said I can’t stay with the team – he felt disrespected by me in front of the players. They said I had to train alone or with the U21s.”I think he disrespected me a little bit. I was very close [to leaving]. I did not want it but the exit was very close. It was heartbreaking.” More