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      in Soccer

      Inside Shakira’s very petty split from Gerard Pique – from brutal diss track to row over bizarre witch doll

      by

      SHE styled herself as a She Wolf in one of her bigg­est hits — and Shakira’s claws are certainly out as she takes aim at her ex Gerard Pique.Once one of the world’s most glamorous showbiz couples, the singer and the Spanish football ace are now engaged in an extra­ordinarily bitter split.
      Superstar Shakira and Spanish football ace Gerard Pique are engaged in an extra­ordinarily bitter splitCredit: Getty – Contributor
      Ever since Gerard ditched Shakira for the then 22-year-old Clara Chia Marti this summer, no act of revenge has been considered too pettyCredit: EPA
      Shakira with Gerard after his team won the Spanish cup in 2015Credit: Getty
      Ever since Gerard ditched Shakira for the then 22-year-old Clara Chia Marti this summer, no act of revenge has been considered too petty — with a brutal diss track, savage jibes and even a row over a bizarre witch doll playing out in public.
      Last week, 45-year-old Shakira dropped a new track which takes a swipe at love rival Clara’s age with the lyrics: “I’m worth two 22s. You traded a Ferrari for a Twingo, you traded a Rolex for a Casio.”
      Gerard, 35, responded by turning up to work in an £8,000 Renault Twingo this weekend and boasting his new seven-a-side project the King’s League had landed a sponsorship deal with Casio — adding that the cheaper watch would “last a lifetime”.
      In another twist Shakira put a terrifying life-size witch doll on her balcony, facing her mother-in-law’s house in the same street.
      READ MORE ON GERARD PIQUE
      Neighbours reported she also blasted out the new song — BZRP Music Sessions #53 — on repeat so Gerard’s mum, Montserrat Bernabéu, could hear.
      The singer was devastated when he went public with new love Clara, now 23, just three months after she kicked him out of the family homeCredit: BackGrid
      Shakira was also deeply hurt by Gerard’s frequent visits to his parents’ home with Clara, which is in full view of her ownCredit: EPA
      ‘You left me because of your narcissism’
      The vitriolic break-up comes after a 12-year romance which began on the set of the video for Shakira’s 2010 World Cup anthem, Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).
      The first of the couple’s two sons, Milan, nine, was born in 2012, prompting Shakira to move from the US to Barcelona. Sasha, seven, arrived two years later.
      Although Shakira and Gerard never married, the Colombian singer insisted he was “the one” in a 2014 interview.
      Most read in Football
      “We already have what’s essential. We have a union, a love for each other, and a baby,” she told Glamour magazine.
      “Those aspects of our relation­ship are already established, and marriage is not going to change them. But if I’m ever going to get married, he’s the one.”
      Ironically, she later revealed she feared becoming a wife would make him lose interest.
      “Marriage scares the sh*t out of me. I don’t want him to see me as the wife. I’d rather him see me as his girlfriend, his lover,” she said. “It’s like a little forbidden fruit. I want to keep him on his toes.”
      In 2021, the couple appeared to stand together as Shakira faced allega­tions she had dodged £12million in tax owed to the Spanish authorities — a claim she has dismissed as “false” although she has now paid the money in full.
      Shakira says Gerard has swapped ‘a Rolex’…Credit: Rolex
      …for a Casio instead and his Ferrari for a Twingo
      Pique turns up at work in a Twingo and says he’s signed a deal with CasioCredit: Twitter @KingsLeague
      But rumours the former Barcelona star was having an affair emerged in June 2022, and days later, the couple shocked fans with a joint statement announcing their split.
      They added: “For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect our privacy. Thank you for your understanding.”
      Spanish outlet El Periodico reported that they had been living separately for a few weeks, after Shakira kicked Gerard out of the family home.
      Three months later, she was devastated when he went public with new love Clara, now 23. She was also deeply hurt by Gerard’s frequent visits to his parents’ home with Clara, which is in full view of her own.
      And she wasn’t going to keep quiet about it. In September, she broke her silence with an emo­tional interview in Elle magazine, saying her situation was “probab­ly the darkest hour of my life”.
      She revealed her ex had left her while her 91-year-old dad fought for his life in hospital after a bad fall.
      She continued: “For [women] like me who believe in values like family, who had the big dream of having a family for ever, to see that dream broken or shredded into pieces is probably one of the most painful things you can ever go through.”
      Shakira also claimed she had sacrificed her own music career by moving to Barcelona saying: “I put my career in second gear and I came to Spain, to support him so he could play football and win titles. And it was a sacrifice of love.”
      Her heartbreak hit, Monotonia, released in October, bewailed the monotony that led to the bitter break-up and contained the dig: “Suddenly you were no longer the same.
      “You left me because of your narcissism. You forgot what we once were.” The video shows the singer being shot in the chest, then her heart pulled out and stamped on.
      As their life unravelled, claims that Gerard had been dating his new love long before the split have fuelled the bitter feud, with some unconfirmed reports suggesting they met at the Davis Cup in 2019.
      The scandal has fuelled constant headlines in Spain — and seemingly, more heartbreak for Shakira.
      ‘A lot of gyms. But work your brain too’
      In a New Year message to her 80million Instagram fans, she wrote that she knew how it felt when “wounds are still open”.
      She added: “Even if someone’s betrayed us, we must continue to trust others. When faced with contempt, continue to know your worth. Because there are more good people than indecent ones.”
      But the sniping and revel­ations have continued to escalate, leading to a brutal war of words.
      This month, Shakira was said to be “devastated” over new footage of a Zoom interview from August 2021, which seemed to show Clara at the family home in Spain.
      It was ten months before she and Gerard announced their separation. The video shows a woman resembling Clara stepping into the frame as Gerard spoke to US video live-streaming service Twitch, while Shakira was reportedly abroad with the boys.
      The bitter star’s new diss track, which has had more than 110million views on YouTube, swipes at Gerard, Clara and her mother-in-law.
      In an apparent dig at the former Manchester United and Barcelona defender, Shakira sings: “A lot of gyms. But work your brain a little bit too.”
      Shakira put a witch effigy on her balcony facing mum-in-law’s home and blasts out her new revenge trackCredit: Splash
      She adds: “No hard feelings baby, I wish you the best with my supposed replacement.”
      Referring to her tax fraud case and her proximity to Gerard’s family home, she sings: “You left me my mother-in-law as my neighbour, press at my door and in debt with the treasury.”
      She also uses a play on words against her rival, adding: “She has the name of a good person, It’s clearly not what it sounds like”. The Spanish word for “clearly” — “claramente” — which sounds similar to Clara Marti’s name, is emphasised.
      Defending her song on Twitter, amid accusations of misogyny against Clara, Shakira wrote: “This is for all the women who taught me that when life throws bitter lemons at you, all you can do is make lemonade.”
      Fans took it as a reference to Beyonce’s album Lemonade, about the infidelity of husband Jay-Z. The feud reached a new level this weekend amid reports Shakira has installed a witch on a broomstick at her home — looking directly at Montserrat Bernabéu’s house.
      Reports say relations between the two turned sour after Gerard’s mum readily welcomed her son’s new girlfriend into the family.
      Journalist Marc Leirado said the mannequin, with long grey hair and a witch’s hat, had spooked Montserrat. “Weeks ago, I got some information that Gerard’s mother was worried about an alleged ritual that was done to her with a black witch,” Marc wrote.
      He says Gerard’s mum had asked a member of Shakira’s staff to remove it and it was temporarily taken down before being put back.
      Read More on The Sun
      Yesterday, Shakira was having the last laugh as the new song made history, by becoming the fastest Spanish track to make 100million views on YouTube.
      Whatever happens next in the savage tit for tat, you can expect the She-Wolf to bite back.
      HER REVENGE LYRICS
      THESE are the most brutal lyrics in Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions #53
      I’m worth two 22sYou traded a Ferrari for a TwingoYou traded a Rolex for a Casio
      – Clara Marti is rumoured to have started dating Pique when she was 22. The lyric also alludes to his goal celebration, which was a two formed with each hand in tribute to his and Shakira’s shared birthday on Feb 2.
      So much talk of being a championAnd when I needed you, you gave me the worst version of youYou left me my mother-in-law as my neighbourPress at my door and in debt with the treasury
      – A reference to her tax fraud case.
      You thought you’d hurt me, but you made me tougherWomen don’t cry anymore, women invoice.She has the name of a good personIt’s clearly not what it sounds like
      – An apparent pun on the Spanish word “Claramente”, meaning clearly, and its ­similarity to Clara Marti.
      Lots of time at the gymBut your brain needs a little work too More

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      in Soccer

      Arsenal’s 3-0 loss to Spurs last season was the catalyst for title charge – this win would be most significant so far

      by

      FOOTBALL managers often talk about learning more from the agony of defeat than the glory of victory.They will tell you the most painful setbacks can inspire magnificent achievements. That the darkest hour comes just before dawn. 
      Mikel Arteta have taken Arsenal to the top of the league as we reach the halfway point of the seasonCredit: Getty
      And most of the time their words are a bloody great pile of horse manure, spoken in vain hope rather than expectation. 
      But when Arsenal capitulated at Tottenham last May – a 3-0 drubbing which eventually saw them surrender fourth place, and Champions League football, to their bitter rivals – it truly was a catalyst for this season’s title charge. 
      Mikel Arteta has frequently used memories of that night – as well as a second limp surrender at Newcastle four days later – to motivate his side for this season’s extraordinary title bid. 
      Arteta’s side had arrived for the North London Derby on the back of four straight wins and were four points clear of Spurs with three games to go. 
      Read more in football
      Victory would have sealed their return to the European elite, a draw would have kept the Gunners as white-hot favourites, but what followed was not just a costly defeat but a total embarrassment.  
      Rob Holding suffered a personal meltdown – sent off after 33 minutes for a string of cynical fouls on Son Heung-Min and Spurs rattled up a three-goal lead two minutes into the second half. 
      In public, Arteta defended his troops, laughably claiming he was ‘proud’ of them and that he could not give an honest opinion on the match for fear of a massive suspension. 
      That was supposed to lay the blame with ref Paul Tierney but it fooled nobody – Holding could have been sent off even earlier than he was and Arsenal had completely failed to show up for their biggest derby in years. 
      Most read in Football
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      Antonio Conte recently claimed it was a ‘miracle’ that he led Spurs to fourth last season but in truth it was an Arsenal disaster-class which gifted them Champions League football.
      Yet today, Arsenal return to the scene of the crime at the top of the Premier League – dreaming of a first title since the Invincibles almost two decades ago and looking nailed-on certainties to finish above Tottenham for the first time in seven years.    
      But Arsenal have failed to win on their last eight visits to Spurs – at three different stadiums, the old White Hart Lane, Wembley and the new Lane – losing six of them.
      So today represents the stiffest test yet of their mettle and stamina. The Lane will be a bearpit, as it was in May, when Son produced his last great performance in a Spurs shirt before this season’s slump.  
      A fesity game last may saw Tottenham take the last Champions League place beating Arsenal 3-0 in the processCredit: AP
      Since then Arsenal have made a couple of decent signings and recalled William Saliba from a loan in France.
      But with Gabriel Jesus injured and Eddie Nketiah standing in, at least seven of those who started at Spurs last season will line up again today. 
      The true difference has been in attitude rather than personnel. 
      Last season, Arsenal were exceeding expectations by reaching fourth but then the naivety and inconsistency of youth struck them down in the final straight. 
      William Saliba has been a key player for the Gunners this seasonCredit: Getty
      This term, Arteta’s men look the real deal. In the space of eight months, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli – who all started last May – seem to have matured from youngsters with huge potential to senior men who can handle expectation. 
      Arsenal have already overcome some serious obstacles – winning their home North London Derby, pipping Liverpool in a classic and winning at Chelsea.
      Read More on The Sun
      But victory at the Lane would be the most significant to date – especially after last season’s humiliation.    
      And if Arteta speaks of that painful night providing the fuel for this title challenge, then this time you’d better believe him. More

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      in Boxing

      I once asked my dad Muhammad Ali which fight was his toughest and his answer surprised me

      by

      FEW names carry as much weight as Muhammad Ali – so it’s no surprise his son and heir faced an epic fight to live up to his legacy.Not only was the late legend considered to be “The Greatest” boxer of all time, he had a ­magnetic personality and a moral purpose championing his anti-racism campaign in the US.
      Boxing legend Muhammad Ali with son Muhammad Ali Jnr, who has struggled to live up to his legendary father’s nameCredit: Sports Illustrated – Getty
      Muhammad Jnr practising his boxing skills in 2016, but he had previously been hooked on drugs, surviving on food stamp benefits and living in a leaky hovel — cut off from his famous father
      Boxing legend Ali aged 20 in 1962Credit: Getty
      It was therefore inevitable that his namesake, Muhammad Ali Jnr, had high expectations to meet.
      But the younger man had struggles of his own, ending up hooked on drugs, surviving on food stamp benefits and living in a leaky hovel — cut off from his famous father.
      The 50-year-old American has now cleaned up his act and will be the subject of both a documentary and a dramatised movie.
      The films will delve into the trials of being the offspring of Muhammad Ali — born Cassius Clay — probably the world’s best-known athlete.
      READ MORE ON MUHAMMAD ALI
      While you might imagine that Ali Jnr would have been brought up in the lap of luxury, he was in fact raised by his grandparents, who struggled for cash.
      And while he could have chosen to adopt his dad’s birth surname of Clay, he stuck proudly with Ali.
      Speaking exclusively to The Sun, he says: “I was born with the name Muhammad Ali, so I had to be protected because, later in life, my father said, ‘This is Muhammad Ali — when I’m done, he’ll take over’. 
      “Now I’m taking over the legacy. I’m going to keep the legacy going. I am Muhammad Ali Jnr.”
      Most read in Boxing
      Ali Snr was 25 and already a divorcee when he married Jnr’s actress mum, Belinda Boyd, in 1967. She was aged just 17.
      ‘My father was just a teddy bear’
      They had three daughters, Maryum, Jamillah and Rasheda, before the boxer’s male heir arrived.
      By this time, Ali was known the world over thanks to his quick feet, devastating glove work and his refusal on conscientious grounds to fight for the US military in Vietnam.
      But with fame and fortune came the attention of numerous women — a temptation he could not resist.
      He cheated on Belinda, who changed her name to Khalilah Ali, before leaving her for his third wife, Veronica Porche, when Ali Jnr was four years old.
      Ali Jnr reveals that messing with his mum was a bold move — because she was one of the few people to ever floor the champion.
      He recalls: “I once said to my father, ‘Of all the fighting you did, what was the one fight you’d never do again?’ He thought for a minute and said to me, ‘Your mother’.”
      That was because she had thrown him to the ground with a thump in a judo move when he’d crept into the house behind her.
      After the divorce, Ali Jnr went to live with his maternal grandparents and would only stay with his dad during school holidays.
      But his dad, who had at least nine children, made sure those visits were very special.
      Ali Jnr says: “He would take us everywhere. It was all good back then. My father was basically a teddy bear.
      “He loved his kids and he’d do anything for us. I never got spanked by him.
      “It was someone we called ‘Daddy’ — I don’t know any other way to put it. He was a good father even though he wasn’t always there for us.”
      The lack of contact with his children was something that the boxer came to regret. He warned Ali Jnr, “Don’t make the same mistake and same decision I made in my life”.
      His son took the message to mean “having too many women and being with other women. And also the mistakes he made of not being there for his children”.
      Despite earning a fortune from bouts — including the $100million 1974 Rumble In The Jungle against George Foreman — Ali Snr did not provide enough cash to support all his kids.
      Ali Jnr says: “He was away a lot, so our grandparents raised me when I was a child. My grandfather was going to retire, but he had to work to pay the bills, the mortgage.”
      Carrying the name Muhammad Ali around the school playground also proved to be a curse for his son.
       He says: “I got bullied because the other children wanted to know if I could fight like my dad. 
      “I never showed my technique to anybody and I never will.”
      Ali Jnr was more fearful about what might happen to his father as the older man stood up for the rights of black Americans, making him a target for right-wing groups.
       Ali Jnr states: “I thought he was going to be martyred like Martin Luther King was.”
       His dad also warned him about the dangers of a professional boxing career and Ali Jnr decided not to follow the same path. It was a wise decision in terms of health, because repeated blows to the head left the heavyweight king with Parkinson’s disease.
      The brain damage meant that Ali Snr was so forgetful he once abandoned his son at a roadside eatery when the boy was 14.
      ‘I used to smoke weed, crack and cocaine’
      Ali Jnr says: “One time my father picked me up from where I was living in Chicago to go to his home in Michigan and we stopped at a place on the way. 
      “He told me to go get something to eat and when I came back, he was gone. It was scary. I was crying.”
       Around this time, Ali had married his fourth and final wife, Yolanda Williams, who is better known as Lonnie. After that, the boxer and his eldest son drifted apart. Lacking purpose and unable to escape his father’s shadow, Ali Jnr started taking illegal drugs.
      Muhammad Ali Junior pictured outside his former home in one of Chicago’s roughest areasCredit: www.thisischriswhite.com
      Ali Snr was 25 and already a divorcee when he married Jnr’s actress mum, Belinda Boyd, in 1967. She was aged just 17Credit: AP:Associated Press
      The boxing legend with third wife Veronica PorcheCredit: Getty – Contributor
      He admits: “I used to use weed and smoke crack and heroin.”
      In 2005 he married Shaakira and they have two children, Ameera, 14, and 13-year-old Shakera.
      Ali Jnr says: “It was hard financially. I actually had to sleep on the floor because from my bed every day, every night, you would hear gunshots going off.
      “Beside the crime, the water wasn’t right, the electricity wasn’t right, the building wasn’t right. When it rained it leaked into the room.”
      Financial worries only increased the tension with Lonnie, who was his dad’s primary carer.
      His son claims: “I asked him for some money. And she told me not to ask him for money. I really hated her for that.” Eventually, Ali Jnr began taking positive steps and quit his drug habit. He says: “I got off that and turned my life around. I stay away from drug addicts now.”
      But marriage to Shaakira did not survive that turbulent existence and the couple are working out a divorce.
      For a long time he was either unemployed or doing odd jobs, such as painting and decorating.
      Recently, he helped set up The Muhammad Ali Legacy Continues, an organisation that aims to establish gyms in his father’s name and to campaign against bullying.
      Much of his time at the moment is taken up with the movie projects. The documentary, My Father Muhammad Ali, is due out in here in March and there are plans to make a dramatised version of Ali Jnr’s life.
      He reveals: “A biopic is going to start filming on my life story later next year by the same producer who did The Irishman with De Niro.” Ali Snr died aged 74 in 2016, but his son was left upset by the high-profile nature of the funeral, which was packed with celebrities. He says: “It was like a circus.”
      There seems little point in Muhammad Ali Jnr trying to escape his father’s name — because his legacy is all round.
      He concludes: “Everywhere I go, somebody has heard of Muhammad Ali and everywhere I go I see a picture of my father somewhere. 
      Read More on The Sun
      “It’s now like a dream. I never thought my father would die.
      “The greatness he had, I never thought he would literally die.” More

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      in Soccer

      Gareth Bale is NOT Britain’s GOAT – Sun writers from Piers Morgan to Arthur Edwards pick their faves but do you agree?

      by

      GARETH BALE has been hailed the “greatest British footballer of all time” after hanging up his boots.He won five Champions League trophies and led Wales to a Euro semi-final – but is he really the best?
      Here, pundits and writers name their top pick.
      And you can have YOUR say by voting in our online poll at thesun.co.uk/the-greatest.

      Harry Kane
      ENGLAND, 2015-present
      Appearances: 80
      READ MORE ON GARETH BALE
      Goals: 53
      By Clemmie Moodie
      Clemmie Moodie points out that Harry Kane will soon be England’s highest ever goal scorer – and he’s still only 29Credit: Getty
      WHEN Diego Maradona passed away, Pele said the pair would one day play football together in heaven.
      Well, sadly, now they can – quite possibly using the ball Kane punted there during the Qatar World Cup.
      Most read in Football
      That penalty blip aside, in today’s very modern game – VAR, Wags, tattoos and multi-million-pound salaries – England’s captain is an old-fashioned hero.
      A legend in the making, he will soon, surely, be England’s highest ever goal scorer. And he’s still only 29.
      A World Cup Golden Boot and 53 goals in 80 appearances for his country is a tremendous return.
      He may not have the speed of a gazelle, the tricks of a circus chimp or the surging runs of a Madrid bull.
      But he has the rat-like cunning of a true predator.
      Gentleman Harry is the glue that holds this England generation together.
      Steven Gerrard
      ENGLAND, 2000-2014
      Appearances: 114
      Goals: 21
      By Adrian Chiles
      Adrian Chiles thinks Steven Gerrard definitely deserves a mentionCredit: Getty
      THOUGH he never won the Premier League and, with England, was part of the under-achieving so-called golden generation, in my book he is as great as anyone.
      With Liverpool, you felt their trophies wouldn’t have been won without him.
      There was that corker of a last-minute equaliser against West Ham in the 2006 FA Cup final and his incredible second-half performance in Istanbul to win the Champions League in 2005.
      Always trying harder and seeming to care more than anyone else, time and again he was unstoppable.
      His love for the game – and his club – shone out.
      And he didn’t seem to care much for the trappings of his fame.
      He must be the only player of his generation who, boy and man, stuck with the same haircut.
      A mark of greatness in my book all day long.
      John Barnes
      ENGLAND, 1983-1995
      Appearances: 79
      Goals: 11
      By Oliver Harvey
      Oliver Harvey lists John Barnes’s many achievements – including how he took on racistsCredit: Getty
      PERCHED on the sofa at home in 1986, I screamed at the TV as cheating Maradona’s Argentina were 2-0 up against England in the World Cup quarter-final.
      Then, when all seemed lost, Barnes was thrown into the fray with 15 minutes to go.
      The Watford winger soon went on a mazy run and delivered an exquisite cross, which Gary Lineker headed home.
      Shortly afterwards he did it again, yet this time Lineker’s header was cleared. Denied by a whisker.
      Then there was that brilliant 1984 solo goal where he out-Braziled Brazil, in Brazil.
      Despite his mould-breaking wing play, Barnes was subjected to vile racist abuse from the terraces.
      Yet through measured words he took on the racists.
      A brilliant player and thoughtful man, he helped change the face of football – and wider society too.
      Wayne Rooney
      ENGLAND, 2003-2018
      Appearances: 120
      Goals: 53
      By Dylan Jones
      Dylan Jones thinks Wayne Rooney deserves top spotCredit: Getty
      THE numbers don’t just speak for themselves, they scream.
      Rooney is record goalscorer for both Manchester United and England (now joint with Harry Kane).
      He also holds the record for the most appearances of any outfield player for England.
      Along with former team-mate Michael Carrick, he is the only player to win the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Europa Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and the Champions League.
      He is still England’s youngest ever goal scorer (17).
      He played in three World Cups and won the England Player of the Year Award four times.
      Wazza also played football like a tank on roller skates and always attacked the opposing team like a primate on steroids.
      Oh, and to cap it all, he never played for Tottenham. Job done.
      Kenny Dalglish
      SCOTLAND, 1971-1986
      Appearances: 102
      Goals: 30
      By Bill Leckie
      Bill Leckie holds up Kenny Dalglish as the greatest Scottish player ever – and a man who clearly loved the game so much
      WHEN my first kid was on the way we were only ever going to have a girl or a Kenny.
      Dalglish was the most creative footballer Scotland ever produced.
      But even more than that, a guy who played the game not so much with a smile on his face as a grin that split it in two.
      Every time he scored – 250-plus times for Celtic, Liverpool and Scotland – his happiness lit up the dreariest day.
      He loved putting the ball in the net, he loved setting up goals. He just loved being on that pitch, full stop.
      That’s what I wanted for my kids – for them not just to love whatever they chose to do but to let the world see that they loved it.
      Because when you radiate happiness, it can’t help but brighten up the lives of all those around you.
      King Kenny had so many talents as a player. He saw passes others could only dream of and he calculated angles like a maths genius.
      But it’s the joy he took from doing what he did that set him apart as my hero.
      Paul Gascoigne
      ENGLAND, 1988-1998
      Appearances: 57
      Goals: 10
      By Piers Morgan
      Piers Morgan makes his case for glorious Gazza
      THERE have been many great British footballers down the years but none that stirred the soul quite like Paul Gascoigne.
      He was quick, strong, impish, swashbuckling and wondrously skilful.
      Gazza, in full, glorious flight, was a supreme entertainer.
      And if it hadn’t been for injuries and his addiction issues he would be right up there in the same conversation as the two Ronaldos, Maradona, Messi and Pele as one of the world’s all-time greats.
      Gazza was indisputably the most fantastic character to ever play the game – a hyperactive, ebullient, crazy bundle of Geordie fun never happier than when he was pulling pranks on team-mates, opponents or even referees.
      But with a football at his feet, he was a genius and, for me, the British GOAT.
      George Best
      NORTHERN IRELAND, 1964-1977
      Appearances: 37
      Goals: 9
      By Ally Ross
      Ally Ross thinks George Best is a hidden genius and the player who had it all
      HE was a player who had it all. He could run like an antelope, pass, dribble, score with both feet, ride the most brutal tackles, head the ball better than most and, if nothing else was on, nutmeg a defender.
      George had the genius to do it and knew, instinctively, he was in the entertainment industry.
      Just listen to Pele, who described him as “a footballer without comparison” and so good “all you could do was foul him”.
      If George was a clean-cut, Home Counties people pleaser there wouldn’t even be any debate about his supremacy.
      But he was a tormented soul from east Belfast who, when he got bored of being better than everyone else, went to the pub and never really came back.
      George walked out on Manchester United aged just 27 and ended his significant playing days with Hibernian instead of rising to even greater glory than he’d known at Old Trafford and signing for Aberdeen.
      Oh Georgie Boy. What might have been.
      Gareth Bale
      WALES, 2006-2022
      Appearances: 111
      Goals: 41
      By Hugh Woozencroft
      No recency bias here – Hugh Woozencroft explains why he thinks Gareth Bale is truly the British GOAT
      IT is easy to make the case for a number of players if you use a multitude of factors.
      Some of those factors are relevant – longevity, success, big moments. Some just aren’t.
      It doesn’t matter if Bale was injured a lot. It doesn’t matter if he retired early. It doesn’t matter if he wasn’t at his best at the last World Cup and it doesn’t matter if he loves golf more than football (allegedly).
      What matters is talent.
      On his day, and in his generation, the only two other players who could grab a game and win it all on their own were two of the greatest of all time, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
      Bale was capable of majestic, powerful, skilful, unflinching, inspirational football.
      He carried the game in Wales from a laughing stock to the pride of Britain at Euro 2016 and to a first World Cup in 64 years in 2022.
      Maybe it was all too fleeting, I don’t care. Unless you reached those incredible heights you can’t get into the conversation with Gareth. He was The Best.
      Bobby Charlton
      ENGLAND, 1958-1970
      Appearances: 106
      Goals: 59
      By Jeremy Kyle
      Jeremy Kyle makes a good case for the man who won it allCredit: Getty
      WITH a thunderbolt shot, exquisite, slide-rule passes and raw athleticism, Sir Bobby was the complete footballer.
      And Bobby won it all. The World Cup, the European Cup, three First Division titles and the FA Cup.
      Not only that but he was a consummate gentleman who played the game with a British sense of fair play.
      No backchat to referees or disrespect for opponents.
      Can you imagine Bobby – a survivor of the Munich air disaster – rolling around feigning an injury?
      In that glorious summer of ’66 Bobby scored three goals on the way to the final before winning the Ballon d’Or as Europe’s best footballer.
      As his Man Utd manager Sir Matt Busby said: “He was as near perfection as man and player as it is possible to be.”
      Jimmy Greaves
      ENGLAND, 1959-1967
      Appearances: 57
      Goals: 44
      By Arthur Edwards
      Royal photographer Arthur Edwards argues that Greavsie is the greatest of all timeCredit: Getty
      JIMMY was a goal-scoring genius. The hat-trick king.
      No other player excited me like Greavsie. At Tottenham I’d watch him dribble through the defence before scoring the most incredible goals.
      Lionel Messi does it now but Greavsie was playing on pitches that were a sea of mud. He scored an incredible 266 goals for Spurs.
      I have watched Gareth Bale, Gazza and Bobby Moore, but Jimmy, although he was only 5ft 8in, stood head and shoulders above them.
      When I started covering West Ham’s matches I switched allegiance.
      Jimmy joined The Hammers and, as he did at every club he joined, he scored on his debut – two goals in a 5-1 victory at Man City.
      Despite him not being in that amazing ’66 World Cup team, to me he was Britain’s greatest footballer.
      Bobby Moore
      ENGLAND, 1962-1973
      Appearances: 108
      Goals: 2
      By Karren Brady
      Karren Brady sticks with a classic choice – the only Brit to accept the Jules Rimet Trophy from a delighted QueenCredit: AP
      WIPING the mud from his hand like a true gent, Bobby Moore accepted the Jules Rimet Trophy from a delighted Queen, the only Brit ever to do it.
      But it’s not just that trophy that makes Bobby the greatest.
      He was the ultimate defender – a fantastic tackler who was brilliant in the air and who glided over the turf as he began an attack. His reading of the game was astonishing, too.
      Bobby was also a captain and leader who inspired the players around him to greater heights.
      Don’t just take it from me. Pele called him the greatest defender he’d ever played against.
      Ex-West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer described Bobby as “the best defender in the history of the game”, while Sir Alex Ferguson called him “the best defender I have ever seen”.
      Alan Shearer
      ENGLAND, 1992-2000
      Appearances: 63
      Goals: 30
      By Ken Gibson
      Ken Gibson goes with Shearer, a Geordie local heroCredit: Getty
      AS a Geordie, I have to go with my local hero.
      For me, and thousands of Toon fans, Shearer was the greatest, a supreme striker who terrorised the best defenders in the world.
      The Premier League’s top scorer, he could score with left or right foot and was brilliant with his head. He was also a great team player.
      Shearer delivered at club and international level. His record was phenomenal over a long period of time.
      He also had the perfect temperament. Fiercely competitive, he knew how to play right on the edge and bend the rules.
      Read More on The Sun
      I also loved the fact that he gave up the opportunity to win major medals with other clubs, preferring Newcastle.
      Loyalty is also a key part of being Britain’s greatest footballer. More

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      How Italian rich kid Gianluca Vialli brought the fizz to English football and gave the Prem some much-needed glamour

      by

      AS Gianluca Vialli prepared to lead out Chelsea for his first game as player manager, he ordered the Champagne to be uncorked.The Blues were 2-1 down against Arsenal from the first leg of their 1998 League Cup semi-final.
      Gianluca Vialli drank champagne before leading Chelsea out for his first game as player managerCredit: Getty
      Vialli kisses his winners’ medal after Chelsea defeated Stuttgart in the 1998 Cup Winners’ Cup finalCredit: Alamy
      Yet the Italian, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 58, said that as his team were “starting on a new adventure” it was cause for celebration.
      “You should mark the occasion with a toast and some champagne,” he said afterwards.
      “We wished each other all the best and said we must enjoy ourselves. Sometimes in modern football, it is hard to enjoy yourself.”
      Vialli picked himself to play upfront and Chelsea duly turned the tie around with a 3-1 victory.
      READ MORE ON CHELSEA FC
      Cultured and flamboyant, he was a man who knew how to win — and also how to enjoy life.
      The club went on to claim the trophy at Wembley and also lifted the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup that season.
      Stylish and charismatic, Vialli was among the vanguard of foreign talent who brought a cosmopolitan new glamour to our Premier League.
      Arriving at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge in the summer of 1996, the club — then owned by eccentric Ken Bates — was emerging from the doldrums.
      Most read in Football
      ‘A gorgeous soul’
      The team hadn’t won a title since 1955 and had been in the old Second Division just seven years before Vialli’s arrival.
      Like London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal — who had signed Jürgen Klinsmann and Dennis Bergkamp respectively — Chelsea recruited abroad.
      Footie hero Gianluca didn’t have the typical rags-to-riches story and was born to a self-made millionaire dadCredit: Instagram @lucavialli
      Graeme Souness broke down in tears as he described his friend’s legacy in a TV interviewCredit: Sky Sports
      Gianluca with actor pal Sean ConneryCredit: Instagram
      Bates had brought in Dutch superstar Ruud Gullit as player manager in 1995 and Vialli’s arrival a year later helped transform the club into one of the biggest names in world football.
      At 32, Vialli was one of the best forwards in Europe and had just won the Champions League with Italy’s Juventus.
      Joined at Stamford Bridge by countrymen Roberto Di Matteo and Gianfranco Zola, Vialli was Chelsea’s top scorer that season as the club lifted the FA Cup.
      It was Chelsea’s first trophy in a quarter of a century.
      Vialli’s was far from the usual rags-to-riches footballing story.
      The youngest of five children, his self-made millionaire dad owned a construction firm and young Luca was brought up in a castle in Cremona, Lombardy.
      At 16 he made his debut for local team Cremonese, then in the third tier.
      The boy from a wealthy background made sure he always worked hard because: “I never wanted anyone to question my attitude on the football pitch.”
      In 1984 he moved to Italian side Sampdoria, where he played alongside ex-Liverpool great Graeme Souness.
      On one occasion Souness got one up on renowned practical joker Vialli — dressed in club blazer and tie — by pushing him into a lake.
      Vialli later responded by cutting the legs off Souness’s favourite trousers, putting shaving foam in his shoes and itching powder in his pants.
      Vialli spoke good English but mangled phrases. In a press conference he said “when the fish are down”, not “the chips”. English football was hard to get used to, too. A Leeds game was “like playing rugby”
      The Italian would later joke: “I never saw him move so quickly.”
      Souness today broke down in tears as he described his friend as a “special person” and a “gorgeous soul” in a TV tribute.
      Vialli left Sampdoria for Juventus in 1992 for £12.5million — then a world record.
      He would win the Uefa Cup and European Cup for the Turin club before London came calling.
      Suave Vialli loved the capital, living in splendour in a luxury flat in exclusive Eaton Square, Belgravia.
      There were trips to the theatre and meals at Knightsbridge’s San Lorenzo, his favourite Italian restaurant.
      The Italian superstar said: “Here I can walk down the street with my girlfriend, I can go shopping, sit in a pub or go out to dinner and nobody asks me for an autograph.
      “That’s a dream. After 15 years of worrying, I’m finally a free man.”
      On match days Vialli would speed away from Stamford Bridge on a Piaggio scooter to avoid the traffic.
      The striker, who scored 16 goals in 59 games for the Italian national side, soon became proficient in English but sometimes mangled turns of phrase.
      Once, during a press conference he remarked “when the fish are down”, rather than chips.
      English football also took a bit of getting used to.
      He described a game against Leeds as “like playing rugby”.
      While swerving the then heavy drinking culture in the English game, he did like a cigarette — even while sitting on the substitute’s bench.
      Despite a successful first season with Chelsea, a lack of minutes on the pitch — including a short run out as the clock ticked down in the 1997 FA Cup final — soured his relationship with Gullit.
      Then, with Chelsea second in the table in 1998, the club sensationally sacked Gullit and replaced him as manager with Vialli.
      Just 33 and still a player, he was the first Italian to manage in the Premier League and guided the Blues to victory over Real Madrid to win the Uefa Super Cup.
      Chelsea came third in the Premier League that year — their highest finish since 1970.
      In 2000 Vialli led Chelsea to FA Cup glory and a quarter-final in the Champions League.
      The practical joker sometimes found the transition to stern boss difficult, saying of his players: “They wanted me to be Luca, having a laugh all the time.”
      After falling out with senior players, Chelsea sacked him in September 2000.
      ‘Sense of shame’
      He stayed in Britain to take his coaching badges and improve his golf.
      Then, in 2001, Watford offered him a route back into management.
      Gianluca married interior designer Cathryn White-Cooper in 2003Credit: REX
      Gianluca at a charity event with former Watford chairman Elton JohnCredit: REX
      Gianluca had other famous friends like Mel CCredit: REX
      A year later he was dating interior designer Cathryn White-Cooper.
      The couple married in 2003 and they had two daughters, Olivia and Sofia.
      “I never wanted to move back to Italy,” Viall said in 2002.
      “My girlfriend is English, I love London.”
      Watford sacked Vialli after a season but he remained in London and worked as a commentator for Sky Sports Italia.
      Then the football world was left reeling in November 2018 after he revealed he had suffered pancreatic cancer for almost a year.
      He initially tried to hide weight loss by wearing a sweater under his shirt as he underwent eight months of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiotherapy.
      “I knew it was hard to have to tell others, to tell my family,” Vialli said.
      “You would never want to hurt the people who love you, my parents, my brothers and my sister, my wife Cathryn, our little girls.
      “It gives you a sense of shame, as if it is your fault.
      “I would wear a sweater under my shirt so others did not notice anything, that I would still be the Vialli they knew.”
      The tumour returned in March 2019, requiring nine months of chemotherapy, when he lost the hair from his beard and eyebrows.
      At first he tried to draw them back on himself, adding: “Then my daughters helped, and I got my wife advising which make-up looks better.
      “We laughed. You have to laugh. You need to find the funny side if you can.
      “I hear people say ‘fight with cancer’. It’s not a battle for me.
      “It’s more like a journey. I see it as a journey with an unwanted travel companion.”
      In 2020 he revealed he had been given the all clear from the disease after 17 months of chemotherapy.
      He admitted: “It was difficult, even for someone as tough as me, both physically and mentally.”
      In 2019 he was appointed as new delegation chief of Italy’s national football team under head coach and great friend and teammate from his Sampdoria days Roberto Mancini.
      “Being on the bus, the music pumping, hugging the players before the match, the national anthem, the joy afterwards — I was missing football and I didn’t realise how much,” he said.
      He had to step away from the role on December 14 last year due to the aggressive return of cancer.
      In his final public statement he said he hoped his absence from the national team was “temporary”.
      His death in a London hospital, with his family at his side, was announced today.
      Before his passing, he and great friend Mancini had enjoyed a final sweet triumph with Italy’s Euro 2020 win over England.
      Before the final at Wembley, Vialli read Theodore Roosevelt’s rousing “Man in the Arena” passage to the Azzurri players.
      The speech includes the lines that “credit belongs to the man” who “at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.
      Read More on The Sun
      “So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
      It stands as something of an epitaph for a man loved both in his birth nation and his adopted homeland. More

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      A gas fitter’s son who said the only cup worth winning was the World Cup… George Cohen was England’s greatest right back

      by

      ENGLAND football hero George Cohen liked to say that if you’re only going to win a single trophy during your career, then it might as well be the World Cup.And he not only achieved that accolade as part of Sir Alf Ramsey’s glory boys of ’66, but no lesser figure than George Best described him as “the best full-back I ever played against”, while Sir Alf called him “England’s greatest right-back”. 
      George Cohen with Jack Charlton and West Germany’s  Lothar Emmerich looking on in England’s victorious World Cup final of 1966Credit: Getty
      George, second left, and ’66 cup-winning team mates collect MBEs in 2000 at Buckingham PalaceCredit: Mirrorpix
      George’s death yesterday aged 83 leaves just two of England’s world-beating squad of 1966 — Sir Geoff Hurst, 81, and 85-year-old Sir Bobby Charlton
      George’s death yesterday aged 83 leaves just two of England’s world-beating squad of 1966 — Sir Geoff Hurst, 81, and 85-year-old Sir Bobby Charlton.
      Hat-trick hero Sir Geoff tweeted: “Very sad to hear my friend and England team-mate has died.
      “Everyone, without exception, always said that George was such a lovely man. He will be sadly missed, my heartfelt thoughts are with George’s wife Daphne and his family.”
      Toothless kiss
      For George, 13 years of club football at Fulham brought no honours and relatively modest financial reward.
      READ MORE ON ENGLAND ’66
      Yet after beating cancer three times, and his mother, father and brother dying in tragic circumstances, he was only too aware of life’s priorities.
      When he sold his World Cup winner’s medal in 1998 for £80,000 to fund his and Daphne’s retirement, he said: “What I have been through does help put things in perspective.”
      Yet George — whose nephew is 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Ben Cohen — did treasure his memories of that glorious July day at Wembley 56 years ago, the only time England have been crowned football champions of the world.
      A witty and down-to-earth man, he recalled: “You can’t imagine the euphoria before the final. Then coming out of the dressing room, all we could hear was a beehive-like noise at the end of the tunnel.
      Most read in Football
      “When we hit the open air the noise, movement and colour blew everything out of your mind.
      “When the final whistle went I was in shock. The next thing I knew I was on the floor with Nobby Stiles giving me a big, toothless kiss.
      “Now I know what it’s like to be kissed by Mick Jagger.”
      The victory was a crowning achievement for a working-class lad brought up amid post-war rationing and austerity in West London.
      George Reginald Cohen was born on October 22, 1939, at Walham Green in Fulham.
      His dad Louis was a gas fitter and mum Catherine worked as stores manager at the nearby Lots Road power station. They had two other sons, Peter and Harry.
      Though his surname came from a Jewish great grandfather, George was brought up in the Church of England.
      He excelled at boxing and football at Fulham Central School, and although his dad wanted him to be an electrician, sport was his calling.
      He joined the maintenance staff at Fulham’s Craven Cottage ground as a 16-year-old apprentice, and in 1956 at the age of 17 he made his debut as right-back against Liverpool.
      In 1957 he became a first-team regular, though the most he ever earned at Craven Cottage was £80 a week — loose change compared to the lottery sums paid to today’s players.
      George later said: “The biggest assets I had were speed and strength. I was chunky, never fat. We didn’t have the food to be fat.”
      In 1962 he married Daphne, the friend of a team-mate’s wife, and they had two sons, Andrew and Anthony.
      As a player he was as adept at getting forward as he was in defence, and soon attracted the attention of England boss Sir Alf.
      He made his full England debut in May 1964, against Uruguay, and played in every game at the 1966 tournament, to great acclaim. In the quarter-finals England met an Argentina versed in the art of games-manship, in a famously violent match.
      George later wrote: “Tackles were flying in — and so was the spittle. Our front men, (Roger) Hunt and (Geoff) Hurst, were taking most of it . . . and even in defence we were getting hit late and dangerously.”
      At the final whistle, George went to exchange shirts with Argentina forward Alberto Gonzalez, only for Sir Alf to abruptly intervene.
      In front of TV cameras there was a tug of war with the shirt, and George said later: “Alf was livid with the way the Argentinians had played. He said, ‘You’re not changing your shirt with that animal’. So I pulled it back.
      “Consequently I had a shirt with a sleeve four feet long.”
      Before the legendary final against West Germany, George recalled: “I felt like an infantryman going into the line and not knowing quite what to expect . . . maybe I wouldn’t be a hero but a goat.”
      But he had a good game, and with England’s 4-2 victory, sporting immortality beckoned — even if the rewards weren’t always world-class.
      Burger bar
      Each England player received a bonus from the FA — of a paltry £1,000. And the squad were invited to a celebratory banquet at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, West London — but the players’ wives were not included.
      George said: “OK, you were elated, but you couldn’t even enjoy the official dinner — our wives were upstairs in a burger bar.
      “We’d been away from our wives for ages, and even Nobby Stiles can look attractive after six and a half weeks. Hahaha! Perhaps not!”
      The next year George played his 37th and last England game, a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland. A couple of weeks later he suffered a knee injury playing for Fulham against Liverpool, which led to his retirement in 1969, aged just 29.
      A one-club man, he had played 459 trophy-less games and was given an £18,000 insurance payout by Fulham and received a further £8,000 from a testimonial match.
      Then after a spell as Fulham’s youth team manager, he left football and moved into the more lucrative field of property management.
      He made some profitable deals but when planning permission was refused on some land he had sunk all his capital into, he and Daphne had to sell their home, though they eventually recouped the losses.
      George also had to cope with family tragedy. His dad Louis died of lung cancer aged just 51, and in 1971 his mum Catherine was killed by a lorry in a Fulham street.
      In 2000 his younger brother, Northampton nightclub owner Peter — rugby star Ben’s dad — died after being attacked by thugs. 
      George recalled: “Initially, Ben couldn’t focus on anything other than what had happened to his dad.
      Clash of the Titans as George Best tackles his hero GeorgeCredit: PA:Press Association
      George and Sir Geoff Hurst have a cup of tea in 2009 at WembleyCredit: Getty
      George with his nephew and 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Ben CohenCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      George sold his World Cup winner’s medal in 1998 for £80,000 to fund his and Daphne’s retirementCredit: PA:Press Association
      “It was an awful time for the family, but the boy knuckled down. We had long talks.
      “It’s something you never forget but eventually he started to come round and began playing again. 
      “Now you can see what a determined character he is. He’s very single-minded. I was much the same as a footballer. Ben’s devoted himself to his rugby.
      “Had Peter been alive today he’d be seven feet tall. He saw Ben make his debut and was so proud that he was playing for England.”
      George had had his own brush with death in 1976, aged 36, when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer after being mysteriously struck down by crippling fatigue following a five-mile run near his home in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
      He recalled: “My world was turned upside down. I was a world champion and I was still very fit.
      “One day I felt invincible and the next, the doctors put me in a side room at the Royal Marsden (cancer hospital) for people who weren’t going to make it, and talked about getting my affairs in order.
      “Daphne told the doctors, ‘We’re not getting his affairs in order, because he’s not going anywhere’.”
      A series of operations removed so much of George’s bowel that he had to be fitted with a colostomy bag.
      He later said: “A colostomy brings you down to earth, believe me.”
      He was finally given the all-clear in 1990. When ’66 skipper Bobby Moore died from the same disease in 1993, George became a patron for the charity set up in his honour.
      Scandalously, it took a media campaign for George to be given an MBE in 2000, along with four team-mates from 1966 who had never received official recognition for England’s greatest sporting triumph.
      As George stepped up to receive the honour, the Queen — who had presented the Boys of ’66 with their medals at Wembley — told him: “It’s been a long time.”
      Bye to a true gent
      Match Of The Day host, Gary Lineker paid tribute to ‘hero’ GeorgeCredit: Getty
      FOOTBALL paid heartfelt tribute to George yesterday.
      Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker wrote: “Another of the heroes of the ’66 World Cup-winning team leaves us. He’ll always have footballing immortality. RIP George.”
      George’s former Fulham team-mate Alan Mullery said: “I’ve just got a kick in the teeth, he’s not been well for some time now.
      “George had a wonderful life, he’s got a wonderful family and he was a terrific player to play with.”
      Bobby Moore’s widow Stephanie spoke of her close friend GeorgeCredit: Dan Charity
      World Cup-winning skipper Bobby Moore’s widow Stephanie said: “George was a close friend of Bobby’s and he himself had bowel cancer in the mid-1970s, but made a full recovery. George was a loyal supporter of the Bobby Moore Fund and will be sadly missed by us all. We send our sincere condolences to Daphne and all the family.”
      Former England and West Ham striker Tony Cottee said: “So sad to hear about the passing of George Cohen. I had the pleasure of meeting this absolute gentleman on many occasions. So sad that another of our ’66 boys has gone . . . RIP George.”
      Fulham manager Marco Silva said: “It is a huge loss for Fulham, for English football. As manager, I want to send our condolences to his family.
      “He is one of the biggest examples in the club’s history, the numbers he reached speak for themselves. He is really important for the club and it is a sad day for us.”
      Read More on The Sun
      Frank Lampard spoke of his sadness at losing another of the victorious ’66 squadCredit: Getty
      Everton manager Frank Lampard said: “I always was drawn to that group of players (1966 World Cup squad) and it is always more than a shame when we lose one of those players.”
      FA chairwoman Debbie Hewitt said: “We are very sad. We would like to pass on our deep condolences to George’s family and friends at this sad time.” More

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      Inside Lionesses star Beth Mead’s glamorous life with partner Vivianne Miedema – from Ibiza hols to very pampered pooch

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      HER stunning goals helped the Lionesses bring it home this summer – and made her one of the most recognisable sportswomen on the planet. And this week, Beth Mead’s rapid rise to fame since the Women’s Euros was rounded off when she won the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year.
      Beth Mead took home the coveted BBC Sports Personality Of The Year award this weekCredit: bethmead_/Instagram
      Beth and partner Vivianne Miedema at the Ballon D’or AwardsCredit: viviannemiedema/ Instagram
      The 27-year-old was accompanied at the ceremony by partner and teammate Vivianne Miedema, 26 – with both pictured in crutches following recent injuries.
      It followed a glamorous appearance at the prestigious Ballon d’Or Feminin in October, where both were dressed to the nines in stunning black dresses and walked the carpet together.
      Eventually, Beth came second place – just 26 points separating her from the top spot, while Vivienne came 11th over all.
      At just 16 years old in 2011, Beth was signed by Sunderland and played there for five years before Arsenal came calling.
      It was here that she met her former girlfriend, Danielle van de Donk, who lived with her during lockdown before they split.
      She has since found love with Dutch footballer Vivianne, who also plays for Arsenal and is one of the most prolific goal scorers in the Women’s Super League
      Opening up on her love life, Beth said: “When I was growing up, where I came from, there weren’t many people I knew that were openly gay or bisexual.
      “My parents, at the time, maybe struggled in the beginning and it was something that was hard for me to say.”
      Most read in Football
      Luxury holidays
      Beth shared snaps of her girls’ holiday to Ibiza with some of her Arsenal teammates earlier this yearCredit: bethmead_/Instagram
      Beth and Viv know how to enjoy life off the pitch tooCredit: viviannemiedema/ Instagram
      The pair keep fans updated with their lives on InstagramCredit: bethmead_/Instagram
      Now, however, Beth is happy to keep her legions of fans updated with her life off the pitch and regularly posts pics with her girlfriend.
      Their Instagrams show they love a holiday, with Beth sharing snaps from recent trips to Zakynthos and Greece.
      Beth also posted pictures from a girls’ holiday to Ibiza with her Arsenal teammates back in May, including one shot of them posing with club owner Wayne Lineker.
      Closer to home, they celebrated Beth’s 27th birthday with a trip to the Radio Rooftop in London earlier this year.
      Another member of her family that Beth loves to show off is her adorable pooch Rona.
      The footballer even dresses the dog up for Christmas in a Santa outfit.
      Journey to the top
      Beth initially had to play on all-boys teams as there weren’t any for girls in her hometownCredit: Beth Mead
      Beth has her own home in London, where she spent lockdownCredit: bethmead_/Instagram
      Despite her incredible success, Beth’s journey to the top hasn’t been easy.
      Growing up in the small village of Hinderwell in North Yorkshire, she had to play on boys’ teams at school because they didn’t have a female team.
      Initially, her parents were worried that playing with boys might be too rough for their daughter, but she quickly proved they had nothing to worry about.
      Beth recalled: ‘When she [mum] came back an hour later, he [the coach] basically said I was rougher than most of the boys!”
      She then went on to play for Middlesbrough Academy, with her loving mum taking on a second job to cover the cost of petrol to get Beth to and from training and games.
      Ever thankful to her parents, the striker has described them as “big people who have influenced [my] footballing career”.
      She shared her parents’ strong work ethic and took on double shifts as a waitress and behind the bar so she could earn enough to buy her first pair of football boots.
      Beth said: “I used to work Friday, Saturday. Sunday was double time behind the bar. I was a waitress part-time just to afford the boots. I enjoyed working there and I got my boots in the end.”
      Tragic diagnosis
      In 2021 Beth’s mum June was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.
      “I know I’m not going to share all those moments with my mum for the rest of my life anymore, so to share that moment with her last summer was just incredible,” Mead told the BBC after her SPOTY nomination was announced.
      “For me, football’s always been my first true love.
      Read More on The Sun
      “My mum sacrificed so much, she worked two jobs and I wouldn’t be where I am without them. Nearly a year down the line we found out it was incurable. She’s still fighting.”
      Her father Richard also thinks the tragedy spurred his daughter on. He said: “The diagnosis with her mum, was a trigger for her to show the world what Beth Mead is really about. I think in the Euros she managed to do that.”
      The star is always up for a laugh and got dressed up for Halloween with Arsenal teammates Steph Catley and Jen BeattieCredit: bethmead_/Instagram
      Pictured with her pup and ex girlfriend Danielle van de DonkCredit: bethmead_/Instagram More

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      We have no money and no way of getting home to Argentina but seeing our hero Messi lift World Cup is all we care about

      by

      ARGENTINA is the economic basket case of the world, with incredible 88 per cent inflation and four in ten of the population living in poverty.Its citizens are so poor — with an average wage of just £320 a month — that virtually all have two or three jobs and work 16-hour days in a desperate struggle to pay rocketing bills.
      Argentina fans have put financial worries aside to travel to Qatar to watch the World CupCredit: Dan Charity
      Fans have flown en masse to watch Lionel Messi attempt to win the World CupCredit: Dan Charity
      Messi is playing at his last World Cup and attempting to win the one trophy missing from his collectionCredit: Getty
      But an incredible 60,000 of the country’s soccer fans have somehow begged and borrowed their way 8,200 miles to Qatar to cheer on their heroes in the national team.
      And blue and white-shirted supporters were all smiles yesterday — because they have Lionel Messi and an unshakeable belief that they will win the World Cup tomorrow.
      Genius Messi — playing in his last World Cup at 35 — goes head-to-head with superstar rival Kylian Mbappe and France in tomorrow’s final at Doha’s Lusail Stadium.
      Argentina fans in the 89,000-seat venue will outnumber the French by at least ten to one, creating an astonishing wall of sound.
      READ MORE ON ARGENTINA
      But their dream of ending their nation’s 36-year wait for soccer’s Holy Grail is the only ray of hope for a country blighted by economic woes.
      Argentina has spent more time in recession than almost any other nation since the 1950s and has had double-figure inflation for decades.
      The Argentine peso has also lost 30 per cent of its value in recent months and lack of cash reserves, foreign investment and confidence in President Alberto Fernandez’s regime has sent inflation to that amazing rate of 88 per cent — with predictions it will top 100 per cent in the New Year.
      Argentina fans are expected to outnumber France supporters 10 to one at the finalCredit: Getty
      ‘WE DESERVE SOME JOY’
      But tens of thousands of fans have travelled to Qatar from Argentina — where prices have been skyrocketing faster than in any other G20 nation.
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      In contrast, many England and Wales fans — with UK inflation at around just nine per cent — shunned Qatar’s pricey tournament.
      But despite Argentina’s problems at home, even senior politicians in the capital Buenos Aires believe winning the World Cup is now the impoverished nation’s top priority.
      Asked whether lifting the trophy was more important than tackling inflation, Labour Minister Kelly Olmos shrugged: “We must constantly work against inflation, but one month won’t make a huge difference.
      “We want Argentina to be champions — the Argentine people really deserve some joy.”
      Nicolas Orellano from Buenos Aires says he has no idea how he will get homeCredit: Dan Charity
      Lawyer Nicolas Orellano — who also runs a wine business in Buenos Aires to help make ends meet — used all his savings and borrowed money from his girlfriend to go to Qatar.
      He flew to Spain, then on to London to catch a flight to Dubai, then travelled by bus and train through Saudi Arabia to the capital, Doha.
      Nicolas, 30, is now virtually penniless and is living in a bustling Argentine fan commune in Barwa Barahat Al Janoub, south of Doha, dubbed “Little Buenos Aires”.
      Yesterday fans there were roasting a lamb donated by Argentina’s ambassador to Qatar on a makeshift barbecue beneath a giant Messi banner as footy anthems blared from a loudspeaker.
      Nicolas said: “I have no money and no idea how I’ll get home but there is no way I can leave, now we’re so close to seeing Lionel Messi lift the World Cup.
      “Our politicians back home have let us down but our football team has not — they are the only hope we have.
      “It is a special kind of madness which brings us here when we have so little.
      “My girlfriend supports me and loaned me $500 (£410) when my cash ran out.
      “But I know some people who have sold their homes to find the money to travel to Qatar.
      “The people of Argentina are suffering but they love it that so many of us are here and are even donating money to us so we can stay and support the team.
      “I still don’t have a ticket for the final but would give anything and everything to be there, having been to five games so far — and I’m sure we will win.”
      Accountant and part-time meat trader Javier Mahmud, 36, had been struggling to save a deposit for his first home in Buenos Aires with partner of 15 years Carla Barletta, 34.
      But Carla supported his decision to clear out their entire savings account to travel to Doha via Egypt and Lebanon.
      Javier, at his third World Cup, said: “We have the best fans in the world who are giving everything to be here.
      “Our country is in a terrible state economically but Lionel Messi will repay us by winning tomorrow.
      “I have very little money left and no ticket for the final but I still hope to find a way of being there after following the team this far.
      “I’ll be flat broke when I get home, with no money to buy Christmas presents, but I won’t care and my family will understand. The only gift we want is the World Cup.”
      Fridge repair man Sergio Pendola, 30, from Buenos Aires, flew to Doha via Spain and Saudi Arabia to see his third World Cup finals.
      He said: “Diego Maradona is our god but Lionel Messi has a chance to become another god if he wins the World Cup for us — and he won’t let us down.
      “He has Maradona’s passion now because there are so many fans here willing him to win.
      “There is no question that he is the best footballer on the planet now and Kylian Mbappe will be no match for him.
      “Our fans are the 12th man for the team. I’ve spent my entire $6,000 (£4,920) savings and borrowed another $4,000 (£3,280) — but many here have sacrificed much more.
      ‘FOOTBALL IS ALL WE HAVE’
      Fan Evelyn Galiano has the middle name Milagros — Spanish for miracles — because she survived being born six months premature.
      But she said: “We do not need another miracle — we have Messi.”
      Evelyn, 26, is working in Andorra as a chef, but told her boss she needed a month off to see her idols.
      She said: “It is the last World Cup for Messi, that’s why I am here, and it has been beyond all my expectations.
      “I’m travelling alone but three of the guys here ran out of money for accommodation and are staying in my room.
      “They are staying for free — I wanted to help them. I feel completely safe because we are all fans together.”
      Mauro Fernandez, 32, a chef from Buenos Aires, travelled from Thailand via Madrid to get to Doha.
      He said: “I paid 400 US dollars (£328) for the Holland match and 600 (£492) for Croatia but I have run out of money.
      “They are asking more than 1,000 (£820) for the final ticket so I may have to watch it on a giant screen but I will go to Lusail, so I can be with the fans and see the players.
      “For me it is all about seeing Messi lift that trophy. I’ve been here for ten days and I’m not sure how I will get home.
      “I know Messi is better than Mbappe, he is the best.
      “There will be 50,000 Argentina fans at the final, there are more flights coming in from Buenos Aires. Yesterday they were completely full.”
      Gaston Didier-Lardet, 33, from San Luis, near the Argentine city of Mendoza, made the 12-hour, 6,500-mile flight from Australia, where he was working at a mine.
      He is now living in a low-rise block in the Argentine fan village, and said: “This is not the Sheraton but the atmosphere with the fans is just great.
      “It feels like home — we are surrounded by fans, we have barbecues and music.
      “I am a Messi soldier — he is proof of total sacrifice.
      “I’ve got a ticket for the final and I am very lucky. I am nervous and will not sleep, but I am looking forward to it.
      “I’ve probably spent around $10,000 (£8,200) but it is hard to explain why — I just had to be here.
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      “I’ve heard crazy stories of people selling their houses, their cars, possessions, anything to see Messi lift that World Cup.
      “We know it is his last chance and he is a God to us. I think he is going to do it.”
      Argentina are biddingto win their first World Cup since 1986Credit: Dan Charity
      Argentina fans have made stadiums in Qatar feel like home for the playersCredit: AFP
      Argentina fans roast a lamb donated by Argentina’s ambassador to Qatar on a makeshift barbecueCredit: Dan Charity
      Argentina fans’ tributes to the great Diego Maradona are easy to spotCredit: Dan Charity More