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      in Soccer

      Troy Deeney says dad drove him around as a child with a bloke locked in the boot

      by

      THREE people made me who I am today.My mum, Emma Deeney, the strongest person I know.
      Troy Deeney says: ‘I am wary of saying I had an unhappy childhood because there were a lot of great things in it, but there was alcohol and there was ­violence’Credit: The Sun
      Deeney as a young player at WalsallCredit: PA:Empics Sport
      My dad, Paul Anthony Burke, who decided I take my mum’s surname because of his reputation around Birmingham.
      Even though my dad could be ­violent and abusive towards me and Mum and was in and out of jail most of his life, he looked after me, taught me how to be a man, how to play football and I knew he loved me and I loved him.
      Colin Hemmings is my biological father.
      He left me and Mum when I was a baby and I’ve had very little to do with him since.
      Until recently, just hearing his name made me feel angry.
      Rejection like that leaves a mark on a kid and on a man — and I’ve been trying to deal with it most of my life.

      In the period of my life when I drank too much, a decade or so ago, I thought I drank because I couldn’t deal with death
      But the root of my unhappiness actually came a lot ­earlier.
      I think of Colin Hemmings as a sperm donor. Nothing more.
      That was the only contribution he made to my life.
      And when my father passed away, from cancer at 47, who was the DJ at his wake? Colin Hemmings.
      It was incredibly weird.
      He came up to me a couple of times and I was thinking, “This is really not the time.”
      A lot of things I’ve done are because of rejection.
      I put this hard mask on, this tough guy who fights and brawls and went to prison and says the Arsenal players don’t have “cojones”, all because I don’t want to be rejected again.
      I am wary of saying I had an unhappy childhood because there were a lot of great things in it, but there was alcohol and there was ­violence.
      I was lucky because the man who I will always call “Dad” took care of me when my biological father rejected me.
      My dad was also a career ­criminal and, yes, there were ­occasions when he was violent towards Mum and me.
      Dad spent his life in and out of jail.
      When I was a young player at ­Walsall, Dad came to watch me play at Northampton Town.
      My dad could be ­violent and abusive towards me and Mum and was in and out of jail most of his life, he looked after me, taught me how to be a man, how to play football and I knew he loved me and I loved him.Troy Deeney
      When I came out of the ground he was waiting for me in a blue Mercedes.
      I knew he didn’t have a blue Mercedes.
      He didn’t have a car. He didn’t even have a licence. He had never passed his test. He had never taken his test.
      I assumed the Mercedes was ­“borrowed” but I got in and we set off down the M1.
      He had the music turned up loud and everything was cool and we chatted about the game.
      Then we stopped to get ­petrol. The music went off and I heard this banging coming from behind.
      “Don’t worry about that,” he said.
      “What do you mean?”
      “Look,” he said, “there’s someone in there but I’m going to drop him off in a bit.”
      He mentioned the name of a bloke who was a small-time drug dealer on the estate, Chelmsley Wood, eight miles east of Birmingham city centre.
      “What?”
      “He owes my pal some money so I’ve taken him on a little journey for the day,” Dad said.
      “I’ve fed him and that and he’s fine. We’ll drop him off later and I bet he pays.”
      There was me trying to make a career at Walsall and we are driving around with a bloke in the boot of the car.
      Rejection like that leaves a mark on a kid and on a man — and I’ve been trying to deal with it most of my life.Troy Deeney
      To him that was normal.
      I’ve seen him referred to as a drug dealer in some of the profiles written about me and maybe he did do a bit of that, but if he did it was only small-time.
      He sold knock-off stuff here and there, I think he probably acted as a kind of enforcer for people now and again.
      He didn’t care about the law.
      He ignored it and then, every so often, it caught up with him.
      He never wanted money. He enjoyed a tear-up. He enjoyed creating fear.
      But, despite everything, he was still my superhero. And he looked after me when I needed it.
      When my mum was 17 she worked as a carer at East Birmingham ­Hospital.
      There was a social club there and one Friday night a friend persuaded her to go to the disco there. That’s when she met Colin Hemmings.
      He was a hospital porter and a part-time DJ. He asked her to a party afterwards.
      He already had a baby with someone else but Mum didn’t know that until much later.
      After they had been going out for some time, Mum found out she was expecting me, and while she was pregnant he was offered a job as a DJ in Ibiza.
      There was me trying to make a career at Walsall and we are driving around with a bloke in the boot of the car.Troy Deeney
      Mum took me over there to see him for my first birthday but she soon found he had been ­seeing other women so she split up with him.
      I have only had two or three encounters with Colin Hemmings in my 33 years. He left my mum when she was 19 to fend for herself. That’s not a man to me.
      Has it caused me pain over the years? 100 per cent.
      I have spoken to psychologists about how that has impacted my life in regard to my children and why I used to drink so much.
      Some months later, Mum met Paul Anthony Burke at a house party.
      His way of chatting her up was taking her hand, ­putting a Rizla in her palm and making a spliff. Really romantic.
      He had only been out of jail for a few weeks after serving time for GBH.
      My dad did some bad things.
      And he did some bad things to me too but he took me on when my ­biological father didn’t want me.
      He looked after me, taught me how to play football, taught me how to defend myself, taught me right from wrong, taught me how to ride a bike, how to swim.
      Mum and Dad stayed together for eight years until eventually Mum had had enough. I don’t think it was the life of crime that wore her down, more the continued absences.
      When she tried to end the ­relationship he didn’t take it well.
      He looked after me when my biological father rejected me. He was a career criminal and he was violent. But he was still my superhero.Troy Deeney
      He told her that if she took me and my brother, Ellis, and sister, Sasha, he’d batter her in front of us. We were living at my nan’s in Stechford.
      One day, when I was nine, Mum came to pick me up from school but when I came through the gates I realised something was wrong.
      Dad was there and he was shouting and yelling. I hurried over to Mum’s car and got in the back seat with Ellis.
      She pulled away but Dad jumped in a white van and first tried to block us in then followed us, right on our back bumper the whole way.
      As we pulled up outside my nan’s, Dad leaped out of the van, ran over to our car and flung the doors open.
      He grabbed me and my brother and sister, marched us over to the van and locked us inside it.
      All we could do was stare out of the window at what was unfolding.
      Mum told me some of the rest. Dad jumped into her car and threatened her.
      He thought she had been laughing at him at the school. She had been smiling to a friend.
      Dad put his thumbs in the ­corners of her mouth and started pulling them so it stretched her face. “I’ll give you a f***ing smile,” he said.
      “You can have a Joker’s smile.”
      Then he got hold of her head and slammed it against the window. Mum’s brother, Uncle David, came out and remonstrated with Dad.
      He got out of the car and fronted up to Uncle David, who said he didn’t want to fight him.
      He grabbed me and my brother and sister, marched us over to the van and locked us inside it.Troy Deeney
      He got my mum and walked her to the house.
      It was a traumatic time for all of us.
      The council allocated us a new house.
      Mum was terrified Dad would find out where. We kept it a secret.
      About six months after they split, she went out with someone else.
      I stayed over at Nan’s with Ellis and Sasha.
      Dad came round in a taxi. He was wired, like he was hopped up on something.
      He loaded the three of us into the back. He had somehow managed to find out where we were living.
      We pulled up outside our flat.
      Mum opened the door and her expression turned to pure fear.
      He started going from room to room. “Who were you with last night?” he asked.
      “Have you spent the night on your own?”
      “Yeah, I have,” Mum said.
      “You’re a liar,” he shouted.
      He called Mum all the names under the sun. I was crying my eyes out.
      I told him to calm down but he was out of ­control.
      “I’m going to kill your mum,” he said to me and pointed to each of us kids in turn, “and then I’m going to kill you and I’m going to kill you and I’m going to kill you.”
      He began flinging punches at my mum.
      I tried to get between them and he punched me and knocked me over and hit Mum again.
      I got up and he punched me again.
      He said to Mum she had to take him back.
      Every time she said no, he hit her.
      I jumped up, getting in front and he hit me.
      That seemed to go on forever. It was mayhem
      Dad was wired. He said: ‘I’m going to kill your mum’ and pointing to us kids in turn: ‘Then I’ll kill you and I’ll kill you and I’ll kill you’Troy Deeney
      He picked Sasha up and flung her on a chair. It was mayhem.
      A friend of mine knocked on the door. That saved us.
      Dad let Mum answer the door but he was ­holding on to her hair to stop her running away.
      A woman next door called the police. They arrived quickly.
      One of the policemen pushed the door ajar.
      Dad slammed the door on his arm.
      Loads of police vehicles pulled up outside — two riot vans and four police cars, all for my dad.
      They forced their way in and ­wrestled him to the floor.
      “Look what these b******s have done to your dad,” he was saying. “All I wanted to do was see you.”
      It was an end of innocence for me. It destroyed my relationship with my dad for a few years.
      I forgave him for it but I never forgot.
      The first time he came to our house after he had beaten us up, I p***ed myself because I was so ­frightened.
      A year or so later I was chasing some kid because we’d had an argument.
      He climbed up on to a shed. As I was pulling myself up he kicked me in the face and I went flying backwards and landed hard on my elbow.
      I was in hospital for a week and every time I woke up Dad was ­sitting in the chair by my bed.
      He was there with me constantly.
      All the other stuff had gone because when I needed him most he was there.
      It was a strange dynamic. It’s probably why I’m so messed up now.

       Troy Deeney – Redemption: My Story is out on Thursday (Hamlyn, £20, ­octopusbooks.co.uk).

      Baby Troy aged oneCredit: Troy Deeney / Octopus Books
      Troy, his brother Ellis and dad Paul
      Footie star Troy’s hero is his hard-working mum Emma and he says she is the strongest person he knows
      Troy Deeney – Redemption: My Story is out on Thursday (Hamlyn, £20, ­octopusbooks.co.uk)
      Troy Deeney posts emotional message to Watford fans after 11-year stay ends More

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      in Athletics

      Charlie Webster: ‘I was abused by coach from 14 – later on I found my friends were victims too & one took her own life’

      by

      WHEN Charlie Webster joined a running club at 12, she found an escape from her troubled homelife and dreamed of becoming an Olympic athlete.But over the next few years her dream turned to a nightmare as the Sheffield club’s respected coach groomed her and subjected her to horrific sexual assault.
      Charlie Webster was groomed by her coach after joining a running club at 12
      The teen athlete was abused by coach Paul North
      Now a successful journalist and broadcaster, 38, covering the biggest events in world sport for Sky Sport and BBC1, this was one story she has been unable to tell – until now.
      Ahead of her powerful BBC documentary Nowhere To Run, which airs tonight, Charlie tells The Sun how coach Paul North arranged “private training sessions” before “massaging” her breasts and groin and penetrating her with his fingers.
      After campaigning for abuse victims with the charity Women’s Aid, and encouraging victims to speak about their experiences, she decided she had to reveal her own trauma to help others. 
      “How could I encourage others to talk about it, and say there’s no shame, when I felt horrifically ashamed myself,” she says.
      “It felt hypocritical. I really struggled with it but I now realise how important it is to speak your own truth.”

      It was only when North was jailed for 10 years, when Charlie was 19, that she realised she was not his only victim and, in the course of the documentary, she discovers her closest friends at the club were also abused – with one being raped multiple times.
      An email from the mother of a former best friend, who had been raped multiple times by Charlie’s abuser, spurred her on to make the programme.
      She also contacted the mother of another club member, who had tragically taken her own life at 18. 
      Charlie kept silent about the abuse for 20 years and says she was too ashamed to speak out, blaming herself.
      “That blame and guilt dominated me, and left me with low self-esteem, struggling in relationships, struggling with trust,” she says.
      “I felt ashamed and isolated and sank into depression. I always felt I’d be judged, like I was broken and people would immediately think, ‘she’s a bit messed up,’ so I held it in. 
      “Throughout my career, I tried to be what I thought I should be – a smiley, confident person – but inside there was a part of me which didn’t like myself.
      “You can’t live your life like that because it’s exhausting, it’s chaotic and it’s damaging.”
      Groomed from the age of 12
      Living in Sheffield with a violent and controlling stepdad, who terrorised Charlie and mum, Joy,  she was a talented athlete at school and, at 12, she was encouraged to join the all-girls running club in her hometown.
      She soon found a close network of friends as well as a passion for running which took her mind off her problems, and she looked up to North as a man who could help achieve her Olympic dream.
      “I was very guarded about saying anything that was going on at home, I didn’t tell anyone,’ she says. 
      “But when I ran, it felt like a safe place to let the emotion spill out in frustration, anger, or upset and the coach would put his arm around me to console me. 
      “He befriended me and I opened up about some of my struggles at home so when the abuse started, it was confusing.” 
      After a while, North suggested private training sessions in the hall of the primary school where he worked as a caretaker.
      It was there that the regular ‘massages’ began. 
      I trusted him completely, so when the abuse began, I was scared, confused and embarrassed.Charlie Webster
      “The physical abuse started when I was 14, but there was a lot of manipulation and grooming before that,” she says.
      “I was so embedded and ingrained in the club. I relied on him. I wanted to win, I wanted to be the best.
      “I trusted him completely, so when the abuse began, I was scared, confused and embarrassed.”
      Charlie and her running club friends as teenagers
      Charlie tracked down her old clubmates and Georgina’s mum Jean for the programme
      ‘Massages’ lead to shocking assault
      After each training session, the coach would take Charlie into a classroom where he made her lie on a table for the massages, telling her it would help her on the track.
      “It started with massages for a tight hamstring, then he began massaging the groin and the breasts, telling me I was really tight in the chest area and needed to loosen up my lungs,” says Charlie.
      “I was a child, I wasn’t sexualised, so I didn’t understand what was going on. 
      “He smiled at me the whole time and reassured me that it was the best for me which is really confusing for a young girl who absolutely trusts that person.”
      Charlie was so afraid of her stepdad that she would sometimes wet herself in her bedroom rather than go to the toilet, because he would explode with rage if she made a noise. 
      As a result she developed a bladder problem – which North used as an excuse to take the abuse further.
      “My issues with going to the loo became a problem in training and my coach told me the muscles around my bladder were weak and he could help’,” she says.
      “That was the first time he told me to take my pants off, he moved my knickers with one hand, with quite a lot of pressure, and put his fingers inside me. 
      “I remember feeling really uncomfortable but I desperately wanted the problem to go away.”
      Girls abused on Spain trip
      North’s harsh training methods and pitting the girls against each other also created such a competitive environment that tears and vomiting were common after races. 
      In shocking footage from a training trip to Spain, shown in the documentary, teenage runners lie, collapsed and crying, around the track as he bends down to comfort them.  
      Charlie, then 17, was among several runners North abused on that trip, but his skill at isolating the girls and setting them against each other meant they never shared their secret.
      “There were always girls crying and it was normalised to be sick after a race,” she says. “If I wasn’t sick after a training session, then I wasn’t good enough. 
      If I wasn’t sick after a training session, then I wasn’t good enough. Charlie Webster
      “He would also play me off against my best friend, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her away, saying things to split us up because he realised we were getting close.
      “Everything he did was to get to the physical act of abuse.”
      North was finally brought to book in 2002, after a 15-year-old victim who he stripped and assaulted told her father, who reported him to the police.
      He was jailed for 10 years, and has since been released. 
      Charlie is calling for action to stop abuse in sportCredit: The Sun
      The presenter had a troubled home life
      ‘I’ll never forgive him’
      Charlie’s best friend at the time, who isn’t named in the documentary because of ongoing mental health struggles, was one of two girls who finally testified against North about being raped multiple times, including in her own home.
      Her mother tells Charlie: “She never got over it. She’s not had a life for 20 years. 
      “He got a prison sentence but he still came out and lived his life. My daughter’s had none of that. I’ll never forgive him, I’ll take it to my grave and my daughter will take it to her grave.”
      Another of the group, Georgina, left the club shortly after the Spanish camp and took her own life at 18. 
      She never told her family of any abuse but mum Jean says she became withdrawn and said she’d had an argument with North. 
      “For her to give up running, I always thought something had happened because she loved it,’ she says.
      “I lost her at that point. You couldn’t get to her any longer. She got more and more depressed and she overdosed.”
      Victims scared to speak up
      Even after North’s arrest, Charlie was not approached by either the governing body, UK Athletics, or the police and she believes the system is still failing to support girls today by refusing to take tougher action on perpetrators.
      “There were allegations about another coach, nine years ago, who got a rap on the knuckles and was allowed to carry on coaching,” she says. 
      “I have a whistle blower in my film, Martin Slevin, who was chair of a Coventry running club and a serving police officer and was completely ostracised when he raised the issue of a coach and his relationship with a 15-year-old. 
      “How do we expect a child to speak out when a grown man in a position of power gets bullied out because he’s raised a red flag?
      “Coaches who are found to have abused one young athlete are often given a temporary ban which means the DBS checks are rendered useless, and they can often return to coach again. 
      “Abuse is a pattern of behaviour and there’s rarely one victim – they keep on abusing until somebody stops them.
      “Even a lifetime ban in one sport doesn’t prevent them coaching in another, because there is no universal register.
      “There is a person today who was banned for life from an education setting, but is now coaching young kids at a sports club, because there’s no information sharing.”
      Charlie says the recent case of US gymnastics doctor Larry Nasser, whose abuse of 330 women and girls is currently the subject of a hearing in the Senate, brought her memories flooding back.
      “When I read the testimony of the first girl that came forward, it was like reading my own experience,” she says. 
      “It gave me goosebumps and I felt sick. It demonstrates the common patterns of behaviour that abusers use to manipulate their victims.”
      For the documentary, Charlie spoke to members of her former club – including some who were not abused – and learned that, like her, most carried a sense of guilt that they didn’t speak up at the time, or didn’t know their friends were being harmed. 
      But she says the film helped her shift the blame onto the real perpetrator.
      “This is not my guilt to carry, this is none of our guilt to carry,” she says. “This is his guilt and finally I’m starting to recognise that.
      “I’m actually proud of everything I’ve gone through that I’m still here today rather than ashamed of it. I’ve turned it on its head.”
      Charlie, backed by the NSPCC, is now calling for a major overhaul of the safeguarding system across all sports.
      She is calling for an overhaul of the DBS check system, to allow all potential employees and clubs to be informed of previous allegations and mandatory reporting by governing bodies when allegations of abuse arise.
      Charlie’s campaign for change
      In her campaign, backed by the NSPCC, Charlie is calling for:

      The creation of a central register/licensing scheme for coaches across all sports, informing employees and clubs if allegations of misconduct have been made about coaches. 
      A Government review of the criminal record and intelligence checking system, to address flaws in the current DBS checks which allow coaches and former teachers with temporary or lifetimes bans to coach in a different sport or setting.
      A resource for young people to query signs and red flags and read anecdotes that may relate to what is happening to them, so they can understand when behaviour is inappropriate or abusive.
      An extension of Position of Trust legislation to make any sexual contact between a coach and a 16 and 17 in their care illegal. 

      Sir Peter Wanless, CEO of the NSPCC said:
      “We commend Charlie for bravely opening up about the abuse she experienced at the hands of her sports coach, in this powerful new documentary.
      “To protect children, we need to see a major change to how coaches are registered across all sports and Governments of the UK must review the criminal record checking, known as the DBS in England.
      “Children and young people need a place where they can query signs and red flags, and understand what good coaching is, versus what is abuse and must be reported.”

      After 20 years of repressing her memories, Charlie worked with a psychologist to help her come to terms with her trauma and has recently been diagnosed with PTSD. 
      “I’ve now got perspective, which I didn’t have before, and I would urge anyone who’s ever experienced anything like this to talk to a trusted person or a professional, because it’s the best thing that I ever did in my life,” she says.
      “It made me realise that what I was feeling was normal because of what I’ve been through and that none of it was my fault. I was a child. It’s given me some peace and understanding that he didn’t target me because I’m not good enough, I’m worthless. I was just another person he chose to abuse.”
      Charlie now hopes the BBC documentary, and her ongoing campaign, will help protect the athletes of the future. 
      “People often say ‘if it just helps one person….’, but that’s not enough,” she says. 
      “We need to implement real change, because I’m sick of telling stories about abuse and I don’t want to be talking about more cases of abuse in another 20 years.”
      Nowhere To Run: Abused By Our Coach is on BBC3 and airs on BBC1 tonight at 10.35pm.
      WHERE TO GET HELPWhenever it happened to you, it’s never too late to get support.
      If you’ve ever experienced sexual violenceor sexual abuse, you can get confidential support from specialists who will listen to you, believe you and understand how hard it is to talk about.
      As a victim, you’re entitled to support whether you report the crime or not. Your rights are set out in full in the Victims’ Code. 
      Visit gov.uk/sexualabusesupport to see the support on offer.

      Charlie with teammate Becky, who appears in the documentary
      Charlie has joined forces with the NSPCCCredit: BBC More

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      in Soccer

      Inside Jimmy Greaves and wife Irene Barden’s enduring love story – from baby loss and divorce to remarrying ‘best mate’

      by

      SPURS legend Jimmy Greaves will be remembered as one of the all-time footballing greats and the King of White Hart Lane.But by his side throughout his phenomenal career and beyond, was his doting wife, Irene Barden.
      Jimmy Greaves and Irene first got married when they were just 18 years oldCredit: Getty
      They remarried in 2017 after Jimmy suffered his second strokeCredit: Mirrorpix
      Jimmy – who died today aged 81 – and Irene married when they were just 18, and have been together ever since.
      There were some heartbreaking bumps in the road including the tragic loss of their second child and the couple’s separation for 18 months at the height of Jimmy’s battle with alcohol.
      But, over the last 60 years, they always found a way back to each other.
      And Irene, 81, never left his side for more than an hour after he suffered a stroke five years ago that left him wheelchair-bound.
      “We’ve always adored each other, without a doubt,” Irene said, earlier this year. “I never wanted anyone else.”
      Childhood sweethearts
      Jimmy and Irene were just 18 years old when they first got married in a small ceremony at a registry office in Romford, Essex in March 1958.

      At the time, Jimmy was playing for Chelsea, earning £17 a week and £100 if he played for England.
      Irene wore a smart belted beige dress and jacket with white gloves and a white hat for the ceremony.
      But tragedy struck the couple just three years later.
      Agonising loss of 5-month-old son
      In 1961, Jimmy and Irene’s second child, Jimmy Junior, died from pneumonia aged just five months.
      The couple – who also had a daughter, Lynn, now 61, by this point – were left in despair.
      Jimmy once said: “Jimmy’s death devastated us, it nearly drove us out of our minds.
      “We were inconsolable.
      “You grieve for the death of any loved one but when it is for your own child no words can describe that grief.”
      Irene has said: “He was five months old and there was no rhyme or reason about it. It just happened. 
      “He’d been a healthy baby, 9lb at birth, and when he died we didn’t speak about it — you were told to go home and get on with your lives. 
      “There was no counselling.”
      Irene and Jimmy went on to have three more children, Mitzi, now 59, Danny, 56, and Andy, 54 – and she says she still thinks of Jimmy Jr too.
      “I still think of him. You always do,” she said.”
      “I’ve still got a lovely picture of him hanging on my wall with all the other family photos.”
      Selling jewellery to keep the family home
      Football became a guiding light for Jimmy, but his top flight career ended at West Ham in 1971. 
      It was at the Hammers that his alcoholism began. 
      “He’d just shut himself away in a room at home and drink,” Irene said.
      Some days he would go straight from training to the pub and stay for the rest of the day.
      At his worst he was downing 20 pints of beer and a bottle of vodka a day. 
      Meanwhile, Irene was training as a nurse and raising their four children single-handedly.
      At one point, as Jimmy lost himself to the bottle, Irene had to sell her jewellery to keep the family home.
      “I just got fed up with him,” she said. “I realised it was no good nagging or pouring his drink down the sink because he’d hide bottles everywhere. I had to wait until he was ready to stop himself.
      “He’d promise to give up but he carried on. 
      “I’d say to him: ‘You’ll drink yourself to death and you won’t be here to see the kids grow up.’ 
      “But nothing worked.”
      He and Irene divorced at the height of his alcoholism in 1977, when she “told him to go”.
      ‘I was at the bottom of the heap’
      His marriage over, Jimmy was living in a one-bedroomed flat in Wanstead, east London, scraped a living selling sweaters from a market stall.
      Destined never to see 40, he even ended up sleeping rough.
      Did it prick his pride, he was asked in 2005?
      “I didn’t really have any,” he said “I was at the bottom of the heap and what had happened in the past was the past.
      “I didn’t look at it and think, ‘Well I’ve done this and I’m entitled to that’. Life, I found, was not like that.
      “I basically felt pretty worthless and there wasn’t a lot left in me. I didn’t have any plans.
      “My sole ambition in life at that time was to remain sober, nothing else, that was my only target.”
      Couldn’t live without each other
      It was just 18 months later, when they found they couldn’t live without each other, Jimmy and Irene got back together – with him promising to stay sober.
      Irene recalled: “Jimmy came back home. He said: ‘I’m ready to give up drinking now’ — and I just knew he meant it this time.”
      Jimmy took himself to Warley Hospital in Brentwood, where he’d been twice before.
      This time would be “third time lucky”.
      “There was a small pub on the corner,” Irene said. “He went there and had his last pint of beer. 
      “And that was it. He stopped.”
      Remarrying in 2017
      Although Jimmy and Irene lived together ever since, they only remarried in 2017.
      Their wedding was a small ceremony in their village church.
      “Oh, it was a lovely day,” Irene said. 
      But she added how they always felt like they’d never split up, and still celebrated their anniversary every year throughout their marriage.
      She said, earlier this year, “We’ve been together 63 years now and we always considered ourselves married, even when we weren’t. 
      “We still went out for our anniversary.”
      ‘I’ve lost my best mate’
      Jimmy suffered a minor stroke in 2012, and then a more major one in 2016, which left him partially incapacitated.
      Before he died, Irene said: “He was so charismatic, so funny. Now he’s a shell of the man he was. After his last stroke, I didn’t think he’d make it.
      “And in a way I think it would have been better if he’d gone.
      “This is no life for him. 
      “He doesn’t want to be here. He says: ‘Get me something so I can go.’ And I tell him: ‘You’ll have us both in jail.’ 
      “Sometimes I wish he could just slip away peacefully. I know that’s what he wants.”
      The former footballer had constant care around the clock, and Irene never left his side for more than an hour.
      “Although many people have worse lives, as a carer you feel a bit trapped,” she confessed. “My eldest daughter Lynn lives nearby and she’s in my bubble, so she calls round quite a bit. 
      “But I can’t leave Jim for more than an hour.
      “Sometimes we have a tiff and I say: ‘That’s it. You’re going into a home!’ But I don’t mean it, of course. I’d never, ever do that. 
      “I’ve promised the children I won’t, too. I’d never want that for Jim.”
      “We’ve always adored each other, without a doubt,” she finished. “I never wanted anyone else. But I look at him now and think he’s not the man he was.
      “I’ve lost my best mate. There was no one like him.”
      Irene has said she feels like she’s “lost her best mate”Credit: Getty – Contributor
      Jimmy and Irene with their daughter, MitziCredit: Rex
      Jimmy and Irene with their youngest son, AndrewCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      Jimmy with his eldest daughter, LynnCredit: Rex
      Jimmy Greaves dead at 81: Tributes paid to Tottenham and England legend after dementia battle More

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      Former F1 champ Jenson Button on driving 1963 AC Cobra at Goodwood Revival

      by

      IF you had a classic car worth millions of pounds, you might go easy when taking it out for a spin.But Jenson Button will not be worrying about the odd dent when he races two irreplaceable motors this weekend.
      Former F1 Champ Jenson Button will be trying his hand at historic car racing for the first time at the three-day Goodwood RevivalCredit: Nick Dungan
      Goodwood Revival is a festival of classic cars and motorcycles which has been held on the Goodwood Estate for the past three decadesCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      The former F1 champ is trying his hand at historic car racing for the first time at the three-day Goodwood Revival in West Sussex, which starts tomorrow.
      Driving a Jaguar E-type and 1963 AC Cobra, he will be up against other top drivers in a Ferrari 250 GT — one of which sold for more than £30million — an Aston Martin DB3S from the 1950s and a Ford GT40, which once dominated the Le Mans 24-hour race
      Jenson, 41, told The Sun: “As a racing driver, you can’t think about damaging the car.
      “As soon as the visor closes you drive it as hard as you can.
      “You go for the win. If we are not winning we are not happy.”
      He has clearly not lost any of the love of speed which helped him become Formula One champ in 2009, in an era when F1 cars were more dangerous.

      Last weekend Jenson’s old McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton showed how car safety technology has moved on during a horror smash at the Italian Grand Prix.
      Lewis only got out of his Mercedes unscathed because of a “halo” bar around his head, after rival racer Max Verstappen’s car landed on top of him.
      Jenson said: “I didn’t have halos when I was racing.
      “A lot of people I raced against lost their lives because they didn’t have that technology.”
      But he reckons the crash will not affect how Lewis continues to compete with his rival.
      He added: “I think it’s good these two are going at it so hard, but at some point they are going to have enough respect for each other they won’t have a crash in every race.
      ‘YOU HIT THE BRAKE AND HOPE’
      “It’s great they have that fight, but we want to see them fighting on the circuit, not ending up in the gravel track.”
      Jenson is unlikely to face similar on-track aggression this weekend from his rival Goodwood drivers.
      Also racing will be comedian Rowan Atkinson, 66, in his 70-year-old Jaguar Mk VII and an 80-year-old Bentley Parkward Saloon, F1 legend Martin Brundle, 62, in a Mini and former Le Mans winner Jochen Mass, 74, in a Riley.
      Famous fans expected at the event include Howard Donald, 53, from Take That, and petrolhead AC/DC singer Brian Johnson, 73.
      Jenson is also a big fan of old motors, owning two beautiful Jaguars — a C-Type and an XK120.
      And he loves the thrill of driving without modern aids.
      He said: “It is old-school mechanical grit, which I think makes it fun. Seeing these cars on track, it is like dancing, there is a real flow to them going through the corners.”
      But there is a major downside.
      He added: “They also don’t stop, which is the worst thing and something I have to get used to.”
      In Sunday’s RAC TT Celebration race he will be driving a 1963 AC Cobra, once raced by the legendary American Shelby team that was the subject of 2019 Matt Damon movie Le Mans.
      Jenson said: “This thing, you hit the brake and hope it doesn’t get lost on the corner.”
      But first up tomorrow he will get behind the wheel of a Jaguar E-Type in the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy.
      In both races he will tag team the drive with his childhood pal Alex Buncombe.
      Alex, 40, who has raced on the Goodwood circuit several times in the past, has warned Jenson there is, “No margin for error”.
      ‘IF YOU GO OFF, IT IS VERY DANGEROUS’
      He told his mate: “It’s an old-school circuit. If you go off, it is very dangerous.”
      Fortunately, both cars have been updated with modern roll cages so they are much safer than they were in their racing heyday back in the 1960s.
      Goodwood Revival is a festival of classic cars and motorcycles which has been held on the Goodwood Estate for the past three decades.
      Visitors dress up in fashion from the 1940s to the 1960s and there will be a vintage bike ride led by Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy, 45.
      Away from the race track there is also plenty to keep the big crowds entertained, with restoration projects highlighting the value of the “make do and mend” mindset.
      The idea of saving old cars rather than sending them to the junkyard is key to the Revival.
      There will also be DJs, a classic car auction, a hot rods parade, cocktails and an air display.
      Jenson said: “The atmosphere is a big thing with the Revival and that’s what I am excited about.”
      A PRICELESS PARADE OF SECOND-HAND CARS
      Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ‘722’
      Driven to victory by Sir Stirling Moss in Italy’s Mille Miglia in 1958, it is priceless. And its owner has said it will never be sold. It will feature in a track parade at Goodwood. Speed: 166mphCredit: Alamy
      1964 AC Cobra
      Made by British company AC Cars, the Cobra was adapted by American car designer Carroll Shelby. Under the hammer they can go for more than £1million. Speed: 183mphCredit: Alamy
      Jaguar D Type
      Designed to impress at the Le Mans 24-hour race, a version of this British racing car won in 1955. It also formed the basis of the E-Type. One sold for £16million in 2016, a record for a Jaguar. Speed: 170mphCredit: Alamy
      Aston Martin DB4GT
      One of the most collectable cars in the British mark’s illustrious history. With just 100 ever going into production, they can fetch £1million at auction. Speed: 152mphCredit: Alamy
      Ford GT40
      These cars famously took the top three places at the Le Mans endurance race in France in 1966. Collectors are willing to pay up to £8million to get their hands on the right one.Speed: 216mphCredit: Alamy
      Ferrari 250GT SWB
      The late racing legend Sir Stirling Moss once said this Italian beauty is “perhaps the greatest road car of any make”. They have sold for £7million. Speed: 166mphCredit: Alamy
      Jenson Button says he is looking forward to return to Williams F1 team as senior advisor More

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      Inside Michael Schumacher’s marriage, his wife Corinna’s incredible sacrifices – and reason why she first fell for him

      by

      TO the outside world Michael Schumacher was the confident clean-shaven superstar of Formula One who won seven World Championships – but to his wife of 26 years Corinna, he was so much more. On the track, he was known for his unshakeable nerves and utter precision as he hurtled around the track at breakneck speeds.
      Michael Schumacher with his wife Corinna on their wedding day in 1995Credit: Netflix
      But few know the seven-time world champion like his wife CorinnaCredit: EPA
      Supporting him from the sidelines was Corinna, who was introduced to the star by a mutual friend in 1991 and four years later they married.
      She knew a different side to the motor racing legend – a true gentleman and family man who loved nothing more than to party and throw friends into the swimming pool.
      “He’s simply the most lovable person I’ve ever met,” says Corinna, who has two children Mick and Gina-Maria, with Michael.
      Family breaks their silence
      In the new documentary Schumacher, which is released on Netflix tomorrow, she gave her first in-depth interview since Michael’s horror skiing accident in 2013. 
      Mystery has surrounded her husband’s condition since he fell and hit his head on a rock while crossing an unsecured off-piste area in the French Alps in 2013. 
      It’s known that Michael suffered brain damage as a result of the fall and that he is “different” in the wake of his injuries but until now little else has been said. 
      Giving a rare insight into their lives, Corinna said: “No matter what happens, I’m going to do everything I can. We’re all going to do that.

      “We do everything we can to make Michael better and make sure he’s comfortable and just to make him feel like he’s with his family and to continue our bond.”
      In a heartbreaking admission, Corinna revealed her husband nearly decided against taking to the slopes on the day of his accident.
      She recalled: “Shortly before it happened in Méribel, he said to me, ‘The snow isn’t optimal. We could fly to Dubai and go skydiving there.” 
      Corinna said: “I never blamed God… It was just really bad luck, all the bad luck anyone could ever have in their life.”
      She was by Michael’s side from the early days when he was just a fledgling star with unimaginable pressure on his shoulders, after being tipped as one of F1’s greatest racers.
      I never once thought, ‘He’s a terrific racing driver at the start of a dazzling career.’ No one could have guessed that would happenCorinna Schumacher
      It was the small moments that attracted Corinna to him, including when she cooked a meal in celebration of his birthday and he was “the only one” to help her clean the dishes.  
      “I thought, ‘That’s a proper bloke,” she recalled. “And yes, he was really funny and that’s what I saw in him.
      “I fell in love with him simply because he was a wonderful person. I just sensed that he was something special to me. 
      “I never once thought, ‘He’s a terrific racing driver at the start of a dazzling career.’ No one could have guessed that would happen.” 
      Penniless go-karter to F1 god
      Michael likely never imagined it either. It was his father Rolf, a builder who later ran a go-kart track, who set him on the path to racing superstardom.
      At four years old, he tested pedal karts with motorcycle motors that had been made by his dad and two years later won his first club go-kart championship.
      But taking to the tracks was no easy feat for young Michael because he had little money behind him and was forced to “use the cheapest equipment”.
      He recalled: “I fished discarded tyres out of the bin, put them on my go-kart and won races with them. 
      “I was always glad to have won with the worst and not the best equipment. Having to really fight like that was an additional motivation for me.”
      At around 13, Michael competed against future rival Mika Häkkinen for the first time, who noted he was “difficult to race against”  because he “knew every corner”. 
      I fished discarded tyres out of the bin, put them on my go-kart and won races with themMichael Schumacher
      In 1988, watching in the crowd was Willi Weber, Michael’s future manager, who asked him to join his team and test F3 cars but the teen was uncertain.  
      “Of course, money was an issue,” Weber said. “Michael Schumacher had nothing at that time, not even 500 marks (around £218) to finance a season, which even then cost six hundred to seven hundred thousand”.
      Later that evening, he was delighted to be told he would earn 2,000 marks – around £873 – a month as part of a five-year contract.  
      Michael quickly rose through the ranks and was soon considered a threat to legendary F1 figure Ayrton Senna, who died after a crash in 1994. 
      He joined Ferrari two years later – which was thought to be the ultimate challenge because they had not won the Drivers’ Championship since 1979.
      Michael worked tirelessly for the F1 team but struggled to achieve his first World Championship with them until 2000. 
      Dedicated wife Corinna was by his side for every race until their children were born and made great sacrifices to ensure her husband’s success.
      I spent half the night sitting on the toilet in order not to wake him up to let him have a good night’s sleepCorinna Schumacher
      She says: “It might have been in the bus or somewhere behind the scenes, but I was always on the road with him. 
      “We always enjoyed it together. It was a support to him just knowing he wasn’t alone.
      “Michael planned practically everything down to the minute – get up at such-and-such a time, 15 to 20 minutes in the bathroom. 
      “One night, when we were in Suzuka, I realised there was no way I was going to fall asleep.
      “So I spent half the night sitting on the toilet in order not to wake him up and to let him have a good night’s sleep. So I read my book there.”
      Wild parties, pool dips & bad karaoke
      Michael retired in 2006 but four years later was back racing for Mercedes GP, where he spent his final years on the track before being replaced by Lewis Hamilton.  
      Corinna beamed with immense pride while talking about her husband but most fondly remembered the man who very few got to see.
      She says: “Michael is very suspicious, he always has been during the initial period until he thinks he knows someone or can trust them.
      “But if he opens up then it’s 100 per cent really, all the way.” 
      Those entrusted with this unseen side got to know Michael as a fun family man who loved nothing more than to play practical jokes and laugh. 
      We all ended up in the pool every time… even at our weddingCorinna Schumacher
      She says: “At parties, he was the first to arrive and the last to leave. He loved it… We laughed so much and had so much real fun.
      “We all ended up in the pool every time, that was Michael’s thing. Even at our wedding people were thrown into the pool! 
      “He couldn’t sing well, it was one of the things he didn’t do so well. But he always sang ‘My Way’ because he knew the lyrics.”
      Michael’s former rival David Coulthard described him as an “uncompromising, fast and determined racer” but also a loveable “family man”.
      He recalled: “I’ve had many social evenings with him, drinking Bacardi coke and he would have a cigar.
      “It was a completely different person because of course at that point there was no competition. It was just sharing a nice social moment together.” 
      ‘Accident was bad luck’
      That side of Michael is now sadly a distant memory. 
      Despite several near-misses on the F1 track and his love of high-adrenaline sports like skydiving, Corinna could have never imagined him landing in harm’s way.
      She says: “I don’t know if it’s just a kind of protective wall that you put up yourself or if it’s because you’re in a way naive but it simply never occurred to me that anything could ever happen to Michael.”
      Now the Schumacher family can do nothing else but carry on and live their lives in the way Michael would have wanted.
      Michael always protected us. Now we are protecting MichaelCorinna Schumacher
      Corinna says: “‘Private is private,’ he always said. It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. 
      “Michael always protected us. Now we are protecting Michael.
      “Of course I miss Michael every day but it’s not just me who misses him – the children, the family, his father, everyone who is close to him. 
      “Michael is here in a different way, but he’s here and I think that gives us strength.”
      Schumacher will be released on September 15 on Netflix.
      Michael Schumacher raced go-karts as a child and regularly took wheels out of the binCredit: Netflix
      Michael and Corinna danced a slow waltz at their wedding in 1995Credit: Netflix
      Wife Corinna made a number of sacrifices for her husband’s career including pulling all-nighters not to wake himCredit: Netflix
      Michael was an adrenaline junkie and is pictured here before a skydive with children Mick and Gina-Maria
      Schumacher and his wife Corinna in a passionate clinch back in 2003Credit: Corbis – Getty
      The F1 racing legend’s highs and low is being explored in the new Netflix doc SCHUMACHER
      Michael’s family briefly spoke out about his condition and explained why they wanted to keep his health struggles private
      Formula One star Mazepin blasts Mick Schumacher and says German team-mate ‘f****d last attempt’ in Dutch GP qualifying More

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      in Soccer

      Cristiano Ronaldo may ditch stunning girlfriend Georgina just like he did me, says Natacha Rodrigues

      by

      A MODEL who claims she bedded footie superstar Cristiano Ronaldo behind his stunning girlfriend’s back warned her last night: “Keep a close eye on him in Manchester or he’ll drop you like he did me.”The 36-year-old soccer legend, who makes his Manchester United return against Newcastle on Saturday,  allegedly secretly messaged Natacha Rodrigues for two months before ­bedding her, not long after he met his partner Georgina Rodriguez, 27.
      Natacha has warned Georgina that Ronaldo may ditch herCredit: Peter Powell – The Sun
      Natacha said Ronaldo blocked her after they hooked up at his houseCredit: Peter Powell
      Now reality TV star Natacha, 25, has said it took her four years to get over the Portuguese forward after he blocked her from his life.
      Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, she said: “Cristiano dropped me like a brick and he could do the same to Georgina.
      “They say leopards never change their spots and professional footballers get a lot of attention from beautiful women who throw themselves at them. It will be the same in Manchester as it was in Europe.
      “Cristiano would be a great catch for anyone and Georgina must keep an eye on him if there’s to be trust between them and a future for them.”
      She added: “I was hurt by the way he dumped me by blocking me on Instagram after we slept together, and it still hurts now.
      “There’s always going to be a before and after in my life with Cristiano and the feeling there could have been more for us, even if we didn’t end up becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.”

      Man United’s £12.9million re-signing of Ronaldo — who this week became the greatest ever international goalscorer with 111 — is one of the biggest scoops in Premier League history.
      He is returning to the Reds after leaving in 2009, having made 196 appearances and scoring 84 goals during six years in Manchester.
      Today Natacha alleges that Ronaldo sent her racy texts praising her “beautiful” bottom, asking to “see it in the flesh” and handing her a baseball cap on the night of their tryst before ­messaging her: “Top secret, please.”
      She says she was first contacted by Ronaldo in 2015 when he was single after breaking up with Russian model Irina Shayk.
      Natacha sent him a snap of her bum on Instagram with the words “Enormous kiss”.
      She claims: “It was 1am and I did it as a joke. I never thought he’d reply. But at 6am he messaged me and things went from there. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t.

      “It was when I sent him a video of me twerking in my underwear that he said he wanted to see me in ­person. Cristiano always made it clear he liked my body.
      “He told me he loved my bum and wanted to see it personally.”
      When he asked the aspiring model her age and she responded that she was 21, he apparently said: “Great — brand-new with a good body.”
      Ronaldo allegedly invited Natacha to his flat in Lisbon on October 5, 2016, and later messaged, “Esse cuzinho”, which translates as: “This a**.”
      She claimed he cancelled at the last minute, saying he only had an hour to spare and wanted to be with her for longer.
      But  Natacha says he asked her to send more racy pictures, ­adding: “Send me a twerk — don’t forget.”
      Two days later he scored four goals for Portugal in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra.
      Natacha claims they  continued to message each other but it was only when the star was back in  his home town the following March   that they finally met up.
      Natacha sent him another picture of her bottom and says Ronaldo sent back a message saying: “Don’t be embarrassed. I love kissing bottoms.”
      He then “gave her the four-digit security code to his flat”.
      She alleged: “I couldn’t believe I was walking into Cristiano Ronaldo’s apartment.
      “My heart was racing but he was very nice and sweet and told me to act as if I was in my home.
      “I took my shoes off and poured myself a juice before sitting down next to him. We spoke about his apartment and where I was from.
      “I then took the lead, stood up, took down my trousers and bent over to show him my bottom. He smacked it and said he loved it.”
      Natacha, who has made a name for herself in her Portuguese homeland by appearing on a reality TV show called Love On Top, claimed to The Sun on Sunday in November 2017 how they had sex in March that year “everywhere but Cristiano’s bedroom” in his apartment overlooking Lisbon’s main boulevard Avenida da Liberdade.
      She says he then sent her the ­message: “I enjoyed it. We will see each other again one day. Top secret, please. Kisses.”
      Yet soon after, he blocked her calls and stopped all social media contact.
      It is not the first time he has faced  links to a woman whose bottom he was reportedly attracted to.
      In 2017, Brazilian “Miss BumBum” Erika Canela claimed to The Sun on Sunday how Ronaldo invited her round for dinner after chatting her up on WhatsApp.
      It came after he allegedly bedded another star of the beauty pageant, and Erika said: “Maybe he’s got a Miss BumBum fetish.”
      Natacha added that she hopes Ronaldo has now “settled down”.
      His girlfriend Georgina, who is expected to come to Manchester with him, gave birth to their daughter Alana Martina on November 12, 2017.
      The Spanish brunette is now a star in her own right, with 27million Instagram followers, while being a full-time mum to her first child and Cristiano’s three older children.
      ‘MISS BUMBUM FETISH’
      Natacha said: “I read Cristiano has re-signed for Manchester United and I’m happy for him. I think Georgina will want to and should move to ­Britain with him.
      “Despite what ­happened with us, I hope and pray they stay together and stay in love.
      “They seem to make the perfect couple and, despite everything, I think Cristiano could have changed as a person and a partner. His family has grown and he’s older and wiser.”
      Natacha confirmed she is still blocked on Instagram and has not had further contact with Ronaldo.
      She said: “Sadly, after ­people heard about my affair, I faced a social media backlash from people who didn’t like what happened and felt they could judge me.
      “My life has changed a lot since. I gave birth to a beautiful little girl called Lara Rose in January 2019 and I’m very happy.”
      And she said of Ronaldo and ­Georgina: “If they are happy together, and I’m sure they are, then I’m happy for them.
      “If Cristiano was my boyfriend I don’t think I’d trust him after what happened between us.
      “I’m just happy I’ve been a little part of his life, even though it didn’t end the way I might have wanted.”
      Natacha said her affair with Ronaldo turned her life upside downCredit: Peter Powell – The Sun
      Natacha says Georgina Rodriguez will have to keep her eye on RonaldoCredit: Getty – Contributor
      Ronaldo’s life will change with his return to Manchester United
      Cristiano Ronaldo’s fiancée ­Georgina Rodriguez stuns in diamonds worth £78,000 at the Venice Film Festival 2021 More

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      Cristiano Ronaldo may ditch Georgina just like he did me, says Natacha Rodrigues

      by

      A MODEL who claims she bedded footie superstar Cristiano Ronaldo behind his  stunning girlfriend’s back warned her last night: “Keep a close eye on him in Manchester or he’ll drop you like he did me.”The 36-year-old soccer legend, who makes his Manchester United return against Newcastle on Saturday,  allegedly secretly messaged Natacha Rodrigues for two months before ­bedding her, not long after he met his partner Georgina Rodriguez, 27.
      Natacha has warned Georgina that Ronaldo may ditch herCredit: Peter Powell – The Sun
      Natacha said Ronaldo blocked her after they hooked up at his houseCredit: Peter Powell
      Now reality TV star Natacha, 25, has said it took her four years to get over the Portuguese forward after he blocked her from his life.
      Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, she said: “Cristiano dropped me like a brick and he could do the same to Georgina.
      “They say leopards never change their spots and professional footballers get a lot of attention from beautiful women who throw themselves at them. It will be the same in Manchester as it was in Europe.
      “Cristiano would be a great catch for anyone and Georgina must keep an eye on him if there’s to be trust between them and a future for them.”
      She added: “I was hurt by the way he dumped me by blocking me on Instagram after we slept together, and it still hurts now.
      “There’s always going to be a before and after in my life with Cristiano and the feeling there could have been more for us, even if we didn’t end up becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.”

      Man United’s £12.9million re-signing of Ronaldo — who this week became the greatest ever international goalscorer with 111 — is one of the biggest scoops in Premier League history.
      He is returning to the Reds after leaving in 2009, having made 196 appearances and scoring 84 goals during six years in Manchester.
      Today Natacha alleges that Ronaldo sent her racy texts praising her “beautiful” bottom, asking to “see it in the flesh” and handing her a baseball cap on the night of their tryst before ­messaging her: “Top secret, please.”
      She says she was first contacted by Ronaldo in 2015 when he was single after breaking up with Russian model Irina Shayk.
      Natacha sent him a snap of her bum on Instagram with the words “Enormous kiss”.
      She claims: “It was 1am and I did it as a joke. I never thought he’d reply. But at 6am he messaged me and things went from there. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t.
      ‘ENORMOUS KISS’
      “It was when I sent him a video of me twerking in my underwear that he said he wanted to see me in ­person. Cristiano always made it clear he liked my body.
      “He told me he loved my bum and wanted to see it personally.”
      When he asked the aspiring model her age and she responded that she was 21, he apparently said: “Great — brand-new with a good body.”
      Ronaldo allegedly invited Natacha to his flat in Lisbon on October 5, 2016, and later messaged, “Esse cuzinho”, which translates as: “This a**.”
      She claimed he cancelled at the last minute, saying he only had an hour to spare and wanted to be with her for longer.
      But  Natacha says he asked her to send more racy pictures, ­adding: “Send me a twerk — don’t forget.”
      Two days later he scored four goals for Portugal in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra.
      Natacha claims they  continued to message each other but it was only when the star was back in  his home town the following March   that they finally met up.
      Natacha sent him another picture of her bottom and says Ronaldo sent back a message saying: “Don’t be embarrassed. I love kissing bottoms.”
      He then “gave her the four-digit security code to his flat”.
      She alleged: “I couldn’t believe I was walking into Cristiano Ronaldo’s apartment.
      “My heart was racing but he was very nice and sweet and told me to act as if I was in my home.
      “I took my shoes off and poured myself a juice before sitting down next to him. We spoke about his apartment and where I was from.
      “I then took the lead, stood up, took down my trousers and bent over to show him my bottom. He smacked it and said he loved it.”
      Natacha, who has made a name for herself in her Portuguese homeland by appearing on a reality TV show called Love On Top, claimed to The Sun on Sunday in November 2017 how they had sex in March that year “everywhere but Cristiano’s bedroom” in his apartment overlooking Lisbon’s main boulevard Avenida da Liberdade.
      She says he then sent her the ­message: “I enjoyed it. We will see each other again one day. Top secret, please. Kisses.”
      Yet soon after, he blocked her calls and stopped all social media contact.
      It is not the first time he has faced  links to a woman whose bottom he was reportedly attracted to.
      In 2017, Brazilian “Miss BumBum” Erika Canela claimed to The Sun on Sunday how Ronaldo invited her round for dinner after chatting her up on WhatsApp.
      It came after he allegedly bedded another star of the beauty pageant, and Erika said: “Maybe he’s got a Miss BumBum fetish.”
      Natacha added that she hopes Ronaldo has now “settled down”.
      His girlfriend Georgina, who is expected to come to Manchester with him, gave birth to their daughter Alana Martina on November 12, 2017.
      The Spanish brunette is now a star in her own right, with 27million Instagram followers, while being a full-time mum to her first child and Cristiano’s three older children.
      ‘MISS BUMBUM FETISH’
      Natacha said: “I read Cristiano has re-signed for Manchester United and I’m happy for him. I think Georgina will want to and should move to ­Britain with him.
      “Despite what ­happened with us, I hope and pray they stay together and stay in love.
      “They seem to make the perfect couple and, despite everything, I think Cristiano could have changed as a person and a partner. His family has grown and he’s older and wiser.”
      Natacha confirmed she is still blocked on Instagram and has not had further contact with Ronaldo.
      She said: “Sadly, after ­people heard about my affair, I faced a social media backlash from people who didn’t like what happened and felt they could judge me.
      “My life has changed a lot since. I gave birth to a beautiful little girl called Lara Rose in January 2019 and I’m very happy.”
      And she said of Ronaldo and ­Georgina: “If they are happy together, and I’m sure they are, then I’m happy for them.
      “If Cristiano was my boyfriend I don’t think I’d trust him after what happened between us.
      “I’m just happy I’ve been a little part of his life, even though it didn’t end the way I might have wanted.”
      Natacha said her affair with Ronaldo turned her life upside downCredit: Peter Powell – The Sun
      Natacha says Georgina Rodriguez will have to keep her eye on RonaldoCredit: Getty – Contributor
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      It’s a lucky escape for Mrs Kane… Man City ruined my marriage, says Riyad Mahrez’s former wife Rita Johal

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      THE ex-wife of Man City ace Riyad Mahrez has claimed he turned his back on her and their family after signing for the club.Today singer Rita Johal says the winger, who earns £160,000 a week, transformed from a down-to-earth dad who shopped in Asda into a “big head” after his move from Leicester City.
      Rita said: ‘Harry Kane’s wife probably had a lucky escape’Credit: Nick Obank – The Sun
      Rita said: ‘It was 2014 and I didn’t have a clue who he was. He wasn’t a big name then’Credit: Instagram
      And she thinks England ace Harry Kane’s wife Kate should breathe a sigh of relief now that his £160million transfer to Man City has collapsed.
      Rita, 28, exclusively told The Sun on Sunday: “I can’t comment on other people’s lives but moving there changed my husband.
      “Harry Kane’s wife probably had a lucky escape. Others should be careful.
      “Riyad let fame go to his head. He changed when he went to Manchester City.
      “But a footballer’s career is short-lived.
      “They should remain grounded and loyal to those they care for, even when they have moved up to a bigger club, because when it’s all over they will realise who’s truly there.”
      Rita told how she changed her faith for Muslim Riyad, stopped drinking alcohol and accepted a quiet life with the star when she first met him seven years ago.
      But when he moved north for £60million in 2018, she says Riyad, 30, turned cold towards her.

      Now he has moved on and is engaged to influencer Taylor Ward.
      Rita said: “The Riyad I met is a different person to the one he is now. He parties, he acts like a flash footballer.
      “I don’t hate him, that’s a strong word, but I am shocked and saddened by what he has done.
      “He suddenly left me, blaming the pressures of playing at Manchester City.
      “Now he spends all his time jetting around the place on holiday without a care in the world.”
      Rita, who has worked as a film extra in Kingsman: The Secret Service, and Cinderella, was walking in Oxford Street in her home city of London when Riyad tapped on her shoulder.
      She said: “It was 2014 and I didn’t have a clue who he was. He wasn’t a big name then.
      “But he was charming and I liked him. He was lovely to me, constantly telling me I was beautiful, asking about my life, making me feel special.
      “He said he loved me and wanted me to have his children.”
      The pair became inseparable and just four months later they married in a secret ceremony.
      Rita said: “We had a small wedding at home.
      “I loved him, I wanted to do that. I changed the way I was for him. I changed my faith.
      “I stopped drinking, as he didn’t drink. I loved his values. And I wanted a solid family life.
      “I wanted us to be strong together like my own parents and he felt the same way.
      “Our wedding was low key at home with two priests and our close family.
      “We were madly in love and we wanted to be together for ever.”
      They went on to have daughter Inaya in 2015.
      During the pregnancy, Rita suffered such bad pre-eclampsia she feared she would die and was wary of trying to have another child.
      But a year later the couple ­­welcomed a second daughter, Ayla.
      She said: “I was terrified about having more children but Riyad really wanted us to extend our family. I was scared but he kept reassuring me everything would be OK. We were overjoyed when Ayla was born.
      “At first we were just a normal family.
      “Riyad wasn’t flash. Yes, he was a footballer, but we were just your regular couple with our two little girls.
      “He went and played football, I was a stay-at-home mum. We would watch films together.”
      But in July 2018, Manchester City confirmed his signing on a five-year contract. The transfer fee of £60million made him the club’s then most expensive player.
      Rita says that is when their lives changed completely. Rita, now living in Beaconsfield, Bucks, said: “The loving, humble and caring Riyad disappeared.
      “He started to believe his own hype. He had yes men who told him what he wanted to hear. I started to see the change in him.
      “He stopped asking me how my day went and what I was going to do.
      “I think I became the boring wife at home and he had this glitzy lifestyle away from me.
      “He started to just ignore me.
      “Obviously I asked what was going on and he would say, ‘I am pressured, it is the football, I am stressed’.”
      Things went downhill further until the Manchester City ace moved out of the family home in 2019.
      Rita says: “It got worse and worse. Eventually he moved into our spare room.
      “And then one day he left and checked into a hotel.
      “He just left the family. He left us — he chose a new life.
      “I begged him to come home. He said he couldn’t because he felt so pressured because of football.
      “The truth is he was bored. It was dreadful for me.
      “His fans bullied me online and I felt like a failure.
      Rita and Riyad in happier times at the BT Sport Awards in 2017Credit: Splash News
      Riyad and Rita celebrate with the Premier League trophyCredit: Getty – Contributor
      “For a long time I didn’t have the strength to speak about it.
      “And then when I did, because I had publicised the fact he had walked out, I was the one accused of cheating.
      “There was a huge backlash on social media and I was bullied again, even though in my eyes I was the victim.”
      Last February Riyad started dating Taylor Ward, the daughter of Real Housewives Of Cheshire stars Dawn and Ashley Ward, himself a former footballer.
      Taylor, 23, moved into his luxury flat in December last year and earlier this year they bought a £2million home in Cheshire.
      And in June, the Algeria national team captain proposed with a £400,000 custom-made engagement ring.
      Rita, who is now dating 28-year-old music producer Fumez The Engineer, said: “I found out that he was going out with Taylor via Instagram, because people kept tagging me in photos of him.
      “He didn’t have the decency to tell the mother of his children that he had a new partner.
      “I found out that he was engaged to Taylor on Instagram too. I wish him all the happiness there is but he appears to live a different lifestyle now.
      “He stopped talking to me for a long time after he left. I don’t know why. I did nothing wrong.
      “He will mainly talk via my mum, which is ridiculous. It’s hurtful.
      “I just hope once the glitz of football has gone he doesn’t live to regret it.”
      Riyad and fiancée Taylor with a £400,000 ringCredit: Instagram
      Riyad in action playing for Man CityCredit: Getty
      England ace Harry Kane is now remaining at Spurs, pictured with wife KateCredit: Rex
      Man City star Riyad Mahrez split from his wife and is now dating RHOC star Dawn Ward’s daughter Taylor More