A few months ago, one of the lads on our team—Arun—got married. He’s from Chennai, India. Quiet guy, solid midfielder, never late, never flashy. We used to joke that he was more disciplined than our gaffer. He never really talked much about his personal life, so it caught all of us by surprise when he […]

When I was 10, the dream was simple – play at Wembley, score in front of 90,000, lift the trophy. I used to fall asleep with a football at my feet. I used to imagine Match of the Day cameras following me around school. Fast forward, I’m 27 now. I’ve never played at Wembley. Never […]

No one tells you how lonely this life can be. Yeah, you’ve got teammates. Banter in the dressing room. Group chats full of memes and voice notes. But after the match, after training, after the adrenaline wears off—it’s just you. Alone in a rented flat, nursing a sore hamstring with an ice pack and thinking […]

People always ask, “What do you do after training?” Like the rest of the day is massages and video games. Truth is, after the final whistle, that’s when real life kicks in. I play in the third tier. Not glamorous. Not poor either, but you still worry about the future. I live in a rented […]

People think if you’re a professional footballer, you’re rich. That you drive a Range Rover, wear designer clothes, and spend your days doing drills on pristine pitches before jetting off to Ibiza during the break. That’s true—for maybe 1% of us. The rest? We play in the shadows. I’m a centre-back for a club you’ve […]

Most kids dream of playing in the Premier League. I was one of them. I grew up kicking a ball against a wall, pretending to be Gerrard or Rooney, thinking one day I’d hear my name chanted by thousands. And now? I do play football professionally—in the second division. But no one chants my name. […]