My Story : The Greatest Footballer That Never Was

Sonny Pike was the 1990s wonder kid whose legs were insured for a million pounds at the age of 11 - before his football dream was cruelly snatched away. This is the fascinating story of how a young life was exploited in the pursuit of fame and fortune.

Imagine being so good at football that your legs get insured for a millionpounds – at the age of 11. In the 1990s, Sonny Pike had it all. A glittering future in the professional gamebeckoned. Dutch ‘Total Football’ giants Ajax swooped and flash soccer agent EricHall signed him up. Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Paul Smith queued up to sponsorhim. He appeared on TV shows like Fantasy Football and Blue Peter, featured inHello Magazine and even had his own rap song. Billed as English football’s ‘nextDiego Maradona’, everyone loved the baby-faced young superstar. And then, through no fault of his own, it was all taken from him. Controversially banned from football, the spotlight faded. Agents turned theirbacks. Sponsors withdrew their deals. TV and the media moved on. Even his daddisappeared off the scene. Lost and desperate, Sonny searched for an answer,dabbling in crime, landing in court and even behind bars. The promise of fameand fortune had turned to nothing and there seemed no way back . . . Sonny Pike: The Greatest Footballer That Never Was is a remarkable tale ofexploitation and reckless ambition, exposing the worst side of our game in anera when it was evolving in to the multi-million pound industry we know today. Sonny’s story is captivating, at times harrowing, but ultimately inspirational. Asthousands of young footballers dream of football stardom, it is more relevantnow than ever