Who these Premier League players supported as boys

 

It was no surprise when news broke that Wayne Rooney had rejoined his boyhood club Everton after 13 years playing for Manchester United.

What was surprising however was his admission that he had been wearing Everton pyjamas to bed every night since leaving his beloved Toffees for Old Trafford.

With Everton opting to get their transfer business completed early in the summer, the marquee signing of Rooney have many of the punters tipping the Blues to push for a Champions League spot at the end of the season and with football betting odds as high as 9/1 who could blame them.  

In our latest post we look at the clubs that some of the finest players to have graced the Premier League supported as boys.

 

Jamie Carragher – Everton

The Liverpool legend turned Sky Sports pundit hails from a family of staunch Everton fans who all regularly attended games when Carragher was a boy.

After joining Liverpool at just nine years old, Carragher left after two years to join his beloved Everton but admitted his heart ruled his head and he returned back to Anfield the following year.

Carragher says he still supported Everton right up to when he was playing for the Liverpool reserves and only changed allegiances when he broke into the first team.

 

Paul Scholes – Oldham Athletic

One of the greatest players to have ever graced the Premier League, Scholes has always been very open about his support for Oldham Athletic.

Although he has admitted he also supported Manchester United growing up, he was a regular visitor to Boundary Park in the 80s as it was only 10 minutes from his house and easier to get to than Old Trafford.

 

John Terry – Manchester United

With his father and grandfather already huge Manchester United fans, Terry followed suit wanting to support the team that were winning everything at the time.

Copyright John Terry Instagram

In fact, he almost became a Manchester United player in his youth when Alex Ferguson tried to sign him as a 14-year-old but he failed to convince the Barking born lad.

However, Terry admits that after his first day at Chelsea his mind was made up and he went onto become a Chelsea icon and the club’s most successful captain.

 

Paul Merson – Chelsea

Considered by Arsenal fans as one of their own after spending 15 years at the club and supporting him through his addiction issues, Merson is actually a Chelsea fan who has admitted that Ray Wilkins was his hero growing up.

 

Peter Crouch – Queens Park Rangers / Chelsea

Crouch’s father was a huge Chelsea fan and often took him to Stamford Bridge when he was a boy. However, a lot of his friends were QPR fans and he used to go to see them too.

Crouch says that he looks out for QPR’s results every week as he has an allegiance towards them having played for the club during his youth career and also his professional career,

Micah Richards – Arsenal

When Richards burst onto the scene as a 19-year-old for Manchester City, there was talk of Chelsea putting in an offer for him.

Questioned by the media on the transfer speculation, Richards admitted that he could be tempted to move to London in the future but only to Arsenal as they were the team he supports and he idolised Ian Wright and Patrick Vieira growing up.

Adam Lallana – Everton

Lallana’s father was a huge fan of Everton from the 1980s when they were winning trophies with players such as Gary Lineker and Graham Sharp.

Unfortunately for Lallana his time as a boyhood Everton fan saw the team’s fortunes on the pitch take a downturn and he admits that there were a lot of tears in the house as at the time they always seemed to be fighting relegation.