.png)
Ever met a professional footballer while in your normal day-to-day life? Well, hundreds of people on Reddit have been sharing their experiences.
Reddit user u/FailFastAndDieYoung asked the entire United Kingdom if they'd ever crossed paths with a player, past or present, in mundane fashion.
Advert
2800 comments were left on the post and it made it to the trending tab. That's a lot of people with a unique story to tell.
West Ham striker Michail Antonio having a Sky box fitted, West Bromwich Albion forward Josh Maja knocking on for his ball back and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard on budget flights. Footballers do it all.
Sit back and enjoy some of the best stories you never knew you needed. When all is said and done, you'll probably be thinking 'God I wish that was me'... or maybe not.
Advert
Michail Antonio (former Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest winger. Now plays for West Ham United)
"Michail Antonio. No idea who he was, turned up to his house to fit the Internet, saw the trophies, and did a Google.
Has a very cute cat." - CaersethVarax/Reddit
Harry Kane (former Tottenham Hotspur striker. Now plays for Bayern Munich)
Advert
"Harry Kane came in to the bar I worked in (before it was open) and caught me having a sing song while setting up. He complimented my voice and asked for a glass of water. I had no idea who he was lol." - Lknei/Reddit
Emile Heskey (former Leicester City, Liverpool, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa, Newcastle Jets & Bolton Wanderers striker)
"My cousin used to play for Birmingham City when they were in the Prem.... Saw him and his 'work mates' in Build a Bear factory in the Bullring once. One of his mates being the legend that is Emile Heskey. That was a weird encounter." - DirkManirk/Reddit
Steven Gerrard (former Liverpool and LA Galaxy midfielder)
Advert
"Ste Gerrard just before boarding a Ryanair flight from Faro to Liverpool. We assumed he had his own private jet on the airfield. Nope, he was on our flight haha. Nice enough to take pics with us all before getting on the plane." Lafleur-42/Reddit
John Terry (former Chelsea and Aston Villa defender)
"Not bumped into, but John Terry nearly ran over my brother in Sainsburys car park when we were younger if that counts?" Valuable-Half-5137/Reddit
Advert
Yaya Toure (former Monaco, Barcelona, Manchester City, Olympiacos and Qingdao FC midfielder)
"Served Yaya Toure with a chicken and a cabbage in my local co-op years ago." NewWorlds84/Reddit
Robbie Keane (former Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Celtic, West Ham United, LA Galaxy and Aston Villa striker)
"I remember seeing Robbie Keane sitting outside the same Indian restaurant having lunch for three days in a row the week of his retirement. I couldn’t help but feel pleased for him." Clearitall/Reddit
Nolberto Solano (former Newcastle United, Aston Villa and West Ham United winger)
"I once got woken up at 3am by someone playing the trumpet through my letter box (not a euphemism). I leaned out of the bedroom window to see Nolberto Solano dressed in the full Newcastle United home kit crouching by my front door. I asked him what the hell he thought he was doing. He said 'Sorry, wrong house' then ran off down the drive giggling." SockSock/Reddit
Josh Maja (former Sunderland, Fulham, Bordeaux and Stoke City striker, now plays for West Bromwich Albion)
"My parents live next door to the Mum of a premiership footballer, and we only know this because one day he knocked on my parent’s front door asking for his ball back." Roxyphoephoe/Reddit
Dusan Tadic (former Southampton and Ajax forward, now plays for Fenerbahce)
"My girlfriend speaks Croatian/Serbian and had a full conversation with Dusan Tadic in Serbian while he was in a Southampton supermarket. She had no idea who he was." Hawker_Hunter123/Reddit
Younes Kaboul (former Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Watford defender)
"Younes Kaboul in Westfields London on Xmas eve being literally dragged into a jewellery shop by his girlfriend or wife. We caught eyes and shared an eyeroll moment and a smirk." BrightonTownCrier/Reddit
Jozy Altidore (former Sunderland, Toronto FC and New England Revolution striker)
"Jozy Altidore in the Leeds Student Union bar chatting up some of the girls. He didn't appreciate me interrupting him for a picture so send to my American soccer-mad friend." Lobbbooo/Reddit
Paul Scholes (former Manchester United midfielder)
"Paul Scholes queueing to get into an Apple store. He saw me staring and looked terrified I’d talk to him. My girlfriend sensed something was happening and I told her he was Steven Gerrard and she muttered 'pr**k' as we walked past." Jobsforcrabs/Reddit
Linvoy Primus (former Barnet, Reading, Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic defender)
"I used to see Linvoy Primus walking his dogs (two labradors called Ben & Jerry) quite regularly. He always used to stop for a chat and to make a fuss of my dog. It wasn't until someone else came up and asked him for a selfie that I realised who he was. I just thought he was the friendly bloke with a couple of labs..."
There we have it. It's not all glitz and glamour being a professional athlete.
Have you ever met a footballer in a place you never expected?
Give us a few examples in the comments and see if you can beat these. There are some absolute belters.
Topics: Michail Antonio
Daniel Marland