Steve McManaman
Encyclopedia
Steven McManaman is a retired English footballer who played as a midfielder
, winger and playmaker
. Having spent his playing career at two of European football's most successful clubs of the 20th century, Liverpool
and Real Madrid
, as well as a spell at Manchester City
, McManaman is the most decorated English footballer to have played at any foreign club in terms of trophies won overseas.
McManaman was the first British player to win the UEFA Champions League
title twice, and was also the first English footballer to win the Champions League with a non-English club. In 2008, he was ranked third in a Top 10 of greatest British footballers to play overseas, just behind Kevin Keegan
and John Charles
.
He is also notable for a contractual saga in the late 1990s, that resulted in his football transfer becoming one of the most controversial and high profile Bosman ruling
related transfers of all time, with the deal resulting in McManaman once becoming the highest paid British player in history, for the years 1999 through 2001.
After his retirement as a player in 2005, he became a football pundit for Setanta Sports
and was an associate producer on the film Goal! 2. He was an ESPN
analyst for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
in South Africa and currently works as an English based in-game analyst
alongside Ian Darke
for ESPN's US and UK coverage of the FA Premier League
, FA Cup
and Major League Soccer
games.
supporter, and after making a small name for himself at tournaments for school and around Merseyside
, McManaman's father rejected Everton's offer of a one year contract, and decided to follow Liverpool scout
Jim Aspinall instead, which saw McManaman sign for Liverpool
as an apprentice upon leaving school in 1988. McManaman, a natural athlete and Cross Country
marathon
winner at schools level (having trained with the Liverpool Harriers
and having once beat Curtis Robb
, developed through the Youth Training Scheme
at Liverpool and signed as a full professional on 19 February 1990 in what was to be Kenny Dalglish
's final full season as manager, eight days after McManaman's 18th birthday.
He made his Liverpool debut as a substitute in the Football League First Division
on 15 December 1990, in a 2–0 league win over Sheffield United
at Anfield
, and scored his first ever professional goal with a diving header the following season on 21 August 1991 in the 2 – 1 defeat to Manchester City
at Maine Road
. By this stage, Liverpool were now being managed by Graeme Souness
following the sudden resignation of Kenny Dalglish six months earlier.
McManaman was also at the time, under the private mentoring of John Barnes
as he was being groomed to replace him, and cleaned his football boots as part of the Boot Room policy and British football tradition of apprenticeship at the time.
Under new coach Graeme Souness
, McManaman created and scored several crucial goals in the league and FA Cup
, and his performances in his first season established him as a regular first team player. He collected a winner's medal in the 1992 FA Cup Final
as Liverpool triumphed 2–0 against Sunderland
and was named as the man of the match
having set up the winner for Michael Thomas. He also featured heavily in their run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup
. It was at this time that McManaman was described by Ian Rush
as the most promising young player at Liverpool.
of Manchester United, with both players known to "embarrass defences with their mazy runs, which too often lack the finishing touch they deserve".
In 1993–94
, McManaman showed fine form with two goals against Swindon Town
and some assists including a spectacular run and assist against Tottenham Hotspur
. However this form faltered following a confidence drop after an incident with Bruce Grobbelaar
towards the end of a Merseyside derby
, when the players exchanged blows after Grobelaar lambasted McManaman for a poor clearance which led to a goal being conceded - an incident recently named as one of the top five bust ups between team mates in Premier League history.
In 1994–95
, McManaman got a new million pound contract, and was given a central, freer role by new coach Roy Evans
, who wanted to utilise McManaman's natural running and dribbling ability to drift all over the park. It proved a successful decision as McManaman began mesmerising defences with runs that were later to become hallmarks of the Liverpool side of the 90s. That season he collected a League Cup
winner's medal after scoring twice in his side's 2–1 win over Bolton
; such was his performance that fans named it "The McManaman Final"
. For his second Wembley final appearance in succession he was awarded man of the match, the Alan Hardaker
trophy, and earned a tribute from guest of honour, Stanley Matthews
; one of the greatest wingers of previous generations, who exclaimed after the final: "He reminds me of me when I was playing...I wish there are more dribblers like him."
By the end of 1995–96
, McManaman was top of the goal assists charts in the FA Premier League
with 25 assists over the season, including assists and top ratings in a match, Liverpool F.C. 4–3 Newcastle United F.C.
- voted the best of the decade in a poll known as the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards
. By now, McManaman was ranked as one of the finest midfielders in English football
, and had developed a strong reputation on the European stage following UEFA Euro 1996, earning praise from many at the time, including, Kevin Keegan
, who said "there are few finer sights in world football than the sight of Steve McManaman running down the length of the pitch."
McManaman had also been noted for his versatility in his free role, switching from right to left wings, and his ability to play in central midfield, behind the front pair, or as a forward, with many notable managers including then Ajax coach Louis van Gaal
, describing as a role few could pull off the way McManaman had. McManaman was credited for making the role manager Evans gave him work, with the result being that Liverpool were playing some of the most aesthetically pleasing attacking football at the time in England. McManaman was also said to have been one of only a handful of so called "talismanic" players along with Eric Cantona
and Gianfranco Zola
in the league at the time known to have the panache to lift supporters from their seats each time he got the ball and managers would deploy a man-marker specifically to follow him for an entire game, with Gianfranco Zola adding that McManaman was the player the Italian national players monitored the most. Howard Wilkinson
said McManaman was "virtually unstoppable" at times, while then Middlesbrough
manager, Bryan Robson
, was quoted at the time as saying that "everyone in the Premiership knows that if you stop McManaman, you stop Liverpool." Roy Evans though, retorted at the time to such press hype to diminish the attention on marking McManaman, with the famous, "I would hate to think we are no more than a one-man team" quote that year as well. It was also at this time that German coach Berti Vogts
named McManaman as only one of three Premiership players in his select European XI Team.
excesses emerged and this, fused with underachievement on the pitch, brought criticism in the media. Defeat to Alex Ferguson
's Manchester United in two title races including the 1996 FA Cup Final
, a game where the Liverpool team arrived to inspect the pitch wearing cream coloured Armani suits intensified the criticism. McManaman, Jamie Redknapp
, David James
, Jason McAteer
, Stan Collymore
, and Robbie Fowler
were reported to have cashed in on their new found fame as stars of the nascent FA Premier League
, to live a high life involving groupies, clubbing
and other "high jinks". Modelling contracts and deals with fashion labels like Top Man, Hugo Boss
and Armani culminated in their collective nickname: 'The Spice Boys
.' The situation was further aggravated by stories of McManaman and Fowler's lifestyles off the pitch following an interview with the magazine, Loaded
, which depicted the duo as hedonists and scally characters, as well as stories about McManaman and Fowler's lack of decorum and disruptive influence in the dressing room. McManaman responded by becoming the first footballer of his generation to write a weekly column (in The Times
), although this did not entirely halt the negative tabloid stories nor change his public image.
Labels aside, McManaman was also criticised for scoring too few goals, although he did make up for this with a formidable rate of assists for the likes of Robbie Fowler
and later, Michael Owen
, with Owen saying that "Liverpool at the time was built around McManaman" and was an average team whenever McManaman was not on form. Fowler, meanwhile, regards McManaman till this day, as the best player he has ever played alongside. Jamie Redknapp also added: "He's the most complete athlete I've seen in football. He's got fantastic stamina and pace but he's so strong as well, it's impossible to get the ball off him. He's great to have in your side. You get the ball, give it to him and he does the rest." Whilst acclaimed for his dribbling, the few goals that McManaman did score tended to be spectacular or memorable - most notably an injury time solo goal against Celtic
in the UEFA Cup
, when McManaman scored against them after a 75 yard dribble. Other outstanding goals during his Liverpool career included goals against Aston Villa
, Newcastle United
and scoring the winner in a match against Arsenal
with a stunning volley
, after which he won a PFA
Player of the Month award in December 1997.
. The former is especially notable, because it resulted in several negotiations and high profile dealings that fell apart in a lead up to his 1999 decision to exercise his Bosman right
to move as a free agent and worker when his existing contract expired. It was a deal that was labelled at the time as the most significant Bosman transfer since the very ruling itself, the most lucrative deal by a player under the ruling at the time, and where "McManaman became Britain's first high-profile Bosman departure", heralding a new era of financial gains in football.
The deal showcased the effect of the ruling and how it placed negotiation power in the hands of the players and their market values, as opposed to formerly, their employers/clubs, and McManaman's case was viewed as the first case of the like, followed in 2001 by Sol Campbell
, though, it was not officially classified as one of the consequences of the negative effect of the ruling, with UEFA
declaring in 2005, that they were seeking to repair other aspects of the ruling, such as its causation of a rich-poor gap between elite and smaller clubs.
Prior to the start of the 1996–97
as well as 1997–98
seasons, Liverpool received various bids for McManaman. Having initially rebuffed all approaches for two years running, Liverpool's board of directors, at the time including David Moores
, decided that continually rejecting those bids was risky given the possibility of McManaman allowing his contract to expire and leaving on a "Bosman"
transfer for nothing, and so eventually accepted a lucrative offer of £12.5 million in August 1997 from FC Barcelona
. The board hoped that recouping what would have been the nation's second highest transfer fee (behind Alan Shearer
's 1996 15 million move to Newcastle) would help in justifying the move to the fans, many of whom viewed McManaman as the linchpin and playmaker of the side at the time.
By the end of August 1997, Liverpool's deal with Barcelona for McManaman fell through, with the player's excessive wage demands being blamed for the collapse by Barcelona, although, it was felt in some quarters that McManaman had simply been a pawn
in Barcelona's negotiations to acquire Rivaldo
- to pressure Rivaldo to sign quickly while at the same time toying with McManaman, in case they managed to obtain him for a lower wage. The latter has been deemed to be unlikely, as in an interview, Barcelona's advisor Sir Bobby Robson
, who had initially brokered the original deal, was reported as saying that he then dissuaded Barcelona's management at the time from signing McManaman ahead of Rivaldo right at the last moment, because he decided that McManaman was a "cosmetic player" who would not score the club enough goals despite his skill. Barcelona then emerged saying that McManaman was not the player they were seeking in the end, as they did not just need a playmaker, but a proven goalscorer. McManaman's sports agent
Simon Fuller
of 19 Management
, was reported as having sent Barcelona McManaman's contractual terms and personal terms- which he said were reasonable to the price Barcelona were paying, before flying out, only for Barcelona to renege on the deal after McManaman had arrived, fail to meet him at the Ritz Carlton, and have President Joan Gaspart
cancel the deal, citing the "excessive" personal terms as the reason.
As the deal collapsed, the English press ran headlines about the deal with phrases such as "Greedy", in reference to McManaman, and some newspapers reported that McManaman had deliberately "priced himself out of a move" by demanding 2 million pounds a year and another 2 million for a signing on fee. Some sections of the British media however, noted that it was impossible that McManaman could have been responsible for the breakdown in talks due to pricing himself out of a move, as he lacked a motive; he would have been doubling his pay check if the deal went through, and due to being sold against his wishes, would have pocketed a severance payment of around 200,000 pounds from Liverpool.
Amid the fiasco, Liverpool's board members found themselves at the centre of controversy, as it emerged that they allegedly agreed to sell McManaman behind his back, following an emergency meeting. McManaman meanwhile, claimed innocence throughout; that he flew over for the talks only because he was shocked that Liverpool were willing to sell him in the first place, and that he had been the subject of Barcelona's trading tactics. McManaman however, is believed to have known that he would have been making his debut against Real Madrid for Barcelona, according at the time, to Bobby Robson, so this raised questions about McManaman's claim to not know about the deal as Robson had clearly spoken to him and Roy Evans in the week leading up to the offer. Nonetheless, McManaman claimed it was all a ruse
that defied his wishes: "I was surprised when Liverpool said they would let Barcelona talk to to me because I did not want to join them. Liverpool could have simply rejected the deal. I went to speak to them out of courtesy only to discover they did not want to talk to me. Why they did that I do not know, but you can draw your own conclusions. They were negotiating with another player and maybe that says it all. I have maintained all along that I would not leave Liverpool unless they didn't want me any longer."
Liverpool then responded by saying they only were willing to sell McManaman because no agreement on a deal seemed to be reached, with the club releasing an official press statement that said: 'For several months Liverpool Football Club have attempted to renegotiate a new contract with Steve McManaman without reaching agreement to keep the player at Anfield beyond the length of his current contract. This week Liverpool received an eight-figure offer from Barcelona and felt obliged to inform the player and give him the opportunity, if he wished, of speaking to the Spanish club. At the same time Liverpool again stressed they wanted Steve to stay and sign a new contract with the club.' McManaman replied, saying: 'Liverpool only made one offer and that was some time ago and they did not follow it up. As I had two years to go on my contract I saw no need to rush into anything. What upsets me most is that the Liverpool fans will have got the impression that I wanted to leave. That was never the case.' A week later, McManaman snubbed Liverpool's 2.5 million pound pay rise offer (to make him level with Paul Ince as the highest paid player at the club at the time), reportedly because he was both angry at having been sold and at Liverpol's official press response.
Liverpool had received scouts from AC Milan and Juventus F.C.
for McManaman in November 1997, and subsequently received an 11 million pound bid in November 1997 from Juventus, but turned it down, and denied its existence, presumably to show their commitment to McManaman's claim that he desired to stay and sign, as well as in hope that Juventus would match Barcelona's offer. McManaman too stated that he would not have joined Juventus at that time too, on the basis that he wanted to stay and help Liverpool, and "could not bear to leave them in the lurch". However, McManaman's situation began to look more precarious, and McManaman's reputation with the club and fans began to experience turbulence for the first time, as he repeatedly claimed to be willing to sign a new contract with the club, and even told FourFourTwo Magazine in April 1998's issue that he never said he would leave Liverpool and was often the last player to leave the pitch in order to applaud the fans. Nonetheless, negotiations never led to a new deal and his contract began to wind down. In early 1998 and 1999, Spanish reports stating that FC Barcelona claimed McManaman was going to sign for them emerged again, but this time McManaman rejected the rumours and expressed anger at what he saw as tactics to unsettle him before key Liverpool matches, saying: "How can I be expected to keep commenting on something that has no truth whatsoever.". Yet, McManaman's contract ticked on, and his potential of picking up offers of contracts worth 13 million pounds from overseas clubs in relation to his market value
, also saw McManaman demand that Liverpool match that price bracket, with the player rejecting Roy Evans' record breaking 10 miilion pound offer at the beginning of 1998, resulting in an ongoing failure to get an agreement. Despite this, Roy Evans constantly backed McManaman to sign a contract extension repeatedly, stating: "Hopefully he will be signing for us. He's still got 18 months of his contract to run and we'll be having talks with him. He's never said he wants to leave. He's got the option but we still think we've got the best chance of keeping him." McManaman's agent Simon Fuller then also faced FIFA
sanctions for being an unlicensed agent, and this caused further delay in negotiations as Liverpool were not allowed to deal with an agent unlicensed by FIFA and had to suspend contract negotiations with McManaman for several months in 1998. Liverpool's hopes of retaining the player were also not helped by the position of the club at the time, with McManaman and the rest of the Liverpool team being labelled as 'nearly men' in three title races, having failed to unseat their bitter rivals, Manchester United, as England's top club side of the 1990s. That lingering failure meant inevitable changes at the club, and by July through November 1998, Liverpool appointed Rick Parry
as the new Chief Executive and Gérard Houllier
as the new manager replacing Roy Evans, ushering in a new era for the club. Meanwhile, McManaman's failure to get selected by Glenn Hoddle
for France 1998, also caused McManaman to reportedly want to move on from Liverpool to a continental side.
Despite having been named Liverpool captain at the start of the 1998–99
season, McManaman seized the opportunity of the transitioning of new management, to announce publicly his desire to play abroad, something he previously only hinted at. However, he contradicted himself by also stating that he would wait before deciding on whether to move via the Bosman ruling, or sign a new contract. In October 1998, McManaman was accused of demanding Liverpool pay him 55,000 pounds a week if he was to sign a new contract, and that the Liverpool board feared a wage explosion at the club and rejected it, but the club officially claimed that these were mere "ludicrous" rumours by the press. By this time, numerous European clubs circled the soon-to-be free agent with Juventus
or Real Madrid
appearing the player's most likely destination. The Real Madrid connection was made very clear by late 1998 after José Martínez Pirri flew over just to watch McManaman play twice, and it was announced in January 1999 that McManaman was talking to Real Madrid, with McManaman reportedly offered 60,000 pounds a week and nearly 2 million pounds for a signing on fee. McManaman told The Independent
: "It was such a tough decision because I have been [at Liverpool] 12 years, but I have always stated that I wanted to play in Europe at some stage. At 27, now is the right time. Real Madrid are the European and world champions and this is a chance to test myself in a top European league." McManaman also refused to pose in a Real Madrid shirt at the contract signing event, in respect for Liverpool fans, and Madrid officials said he made the right decision.
McManaman said he based his decision partly on advice he had received from Paul Ince
, Paul Gascoigne
, and Chris Waddle
, all of whom, he told an interview on ESPN
in 2004, "spoke very highly of [playing abroad]." In early January 1999, McManaman's new agent (Fuller's protege- Public Relations
svengali - Julian Henry
), announced that he would be flying over to Spain at the end of the month, and by 30 January 1999, McManaman passed a medical and signed an official pre-contract
with Real Madrid. In what was a highly publicised affair covered by the world media, the BBC
described it as a 'Spanish jackpot
', stating that he would become "the best-paid British footballer of all time", while other papers described it as "English football's worst kept secret."
McManaman's image of being a contract rebel and mercenary
with Liverpool at the time was also exacerbated when he was involved in an off the field year long courtroom
saga from 1997 to 1998 with his football boot
sponsor at the time, Umbro
, who sued him that year for breach of contract
for knowingly wearing Reebok
brand boots in contravention of the deal, and deliberately "blacking out" their logo
on his boots in protest. McManaman argued that his contract was unenforceable and an unlawful restraint of trade
McManaman's argument was that he was being exploited: "I signed the Umbro contract when I was an inexperienced 18-year-old, before I had got into the first team. I'm prepared to go to court if needs be. Of course, I'm looking after myself. But I'm also in the position where I can make a stand and it might help other young players finding themselves in the same situation." Umbro then issued a writ
restraining McManaman from appearing in other sports products while training or on official business, and said: "McManaman wants to ditch his deal with us. We believe Simon Fuller [his agent] has been telling him that his image is over-powered by Alan Shearer because Umbro use him more effectively and pay him more [250,000 pounds compared to McManaman's 6,000 pounds]. But McManaman gave us the sole right to use his name, picture and autograph on our footwear until the year 2000. Fuller's trying to go back on the deal and we stand to lose £1 million."
The court initially ordered McManaman to fulfil his contract, plus an undertaking to pay Umbro's legal costs of launching contempt of court
proceedings against him in 1997, which McManaman accepted and apologised for. But a year on, McManaman continued to dishonour the deal and then finally won an out-of-court settlement in October 1998, that enabled him to be free to negotiate with other companies for what he regarded as remuneration appropriate to his star status. Though separate as an issue, the event added to the contract saga image McManaman had created at the time, with the media describing McManaman as the "star performer in his own soap
", though McManaman's Liverpool manager Roy Evans rushed to his defence. Evans said: "Macca is so laid-back you would never know he was hurting inside. But he has been. Some of the criticisms have been so unfair. Typical of Macca, he's responded magnificently."
, Rob Jones, Stig Bjornebye and Paul Ince
), and officially toed a line saying he wanted to keep McManaman, but said the club had to respect McManaman's decision to exercise his Bosman
right to leave at the end of his contract. Houllier said: "It wasn't unexpected. Steve had always maintained that he wanted to move abroad and I have to respect that...Emotionally we will miss him because he's a Liverpool lad, and needless to say as a player you can't fault him because he has immense ability...I will have to replace him, it's my job to go out and find another Steve McManaman.".
The decision left many Liverpool fans in shock and anger because they believed McManaman refused to comment earlier on his decision because he waited until he was sure Real Madrid
would sign him, stalled on contract talks, and toyed with the fans with his statements, while McManaman claimed he took so long to comment because he was "torn over deciding to leave the magnificent fans." Liverpool fans however, remained split over McManaman's actions, with groups claiming that since he said he always wanted to play overseas, it demonstrated that he had already made up his mind much earlier to leave at the end of his contract, and should have declared that truth, instead of fearing losing his "idol" status with them and constantly claiming to want to sign an extension; thereby misleading the club.
Other Liverpool fans claimed they understood McManaman was in a dilemma because they knew he really wanted to go abroad as he hinted at it since 1996, yet wanted to stay because of sentiment, but because the club tried to sell him off first, McManaman then swayed to change his mind about feeling guilty regarding walking out on the club, and rejected all new contract offers whilst claiming legitimately he was in a dilemma- an act that if true, left fans feeling it was still not the right way to do things even if the club acted poorly as well.
The final fan view; the most predominant view, is an amalgam
of the other two views, but begins with the different premise that McManaman might not have concretely decided to play abroad before 1998, nor did he necessarily want to do a Bosman. It does however believe the inevitable reality that saw him refuse to sign a new Liverpool contract was linked to the fact that he publicly felt the club did not pay him the wage he felt he deserved (he had accepted Roy Evans' offers but this was not sanctioned by the board and McManaman rejected their offers), and that this was also consistent with his own statements where he said he felt he had been playing good football while the club had not been playing well nor at the highest level of the Champions' league and he needed to test himself with the best. The club then decided to cash in on him when offers came in (with Barcelona), knowing he was not going to easily accept a deal from them (as he was rated highly) and needed a big wage, and all this while he was also inclined to go overseas; leaving on a free if he had to. In this respect, the club genuinely betrayed McManaman by selling him early but not without legitimate grounds for doing so, and McManaman had also betrayed the club by believing he was better than the club, but not without legitimate grounds for leaving as he did see out his contract, did serve the club for a decade, and also was sold by the club first. When the Barcelona deal collapsed, the club's trading image looked awkward and the club had no choice but to change their approach to McManaman and turn down Juventus to make up for this, but by then it was too late to reconcile affairs with McManaman, who by this time had made himself to look like the innocent party by telling fans he never said he wanted to leave. In this way, McManaman was at fault because he never signed, and simply added up all the factors and decided to take the chance to leave by late 1998, hence the talks with Madrid. He then had a gentleman's agreement
with Houllier about leaving before Houllier's continental revolution began, which would have seen the Spice Boys cleared out anyway. Today, many Liverpool fans consider this the most popular view, and this leaves many fans feeling McManaman acted in a self-interested manner even though both club and player were at fault for the whole mess, and many Liverpool fans remain split till this day over McManaman's departure and the whole contract saga affair.
Whatever the fans' views, the facts remained that in McManaman's final games for the club in the second half of the 1998–99
season, he began turning in mixed performances, with the media accusing him of playing out his final season in a "desultory manner". His form dipped at times, arguably due to a combination of injuries, being restricted to substitute appearances (as Houllier wanted to cut the side's dependency on his gameplay and replace him), and loss of confidence in certain games where even the home fans turned against him over the contract debacle, with some labelling him a 'traitor' and a Judas
figure. McManaman told the media after one such game where he became victim of the "boo boys", saying: "That's understandable, when I came off the other day I knew the reaction there was going to be. But I think if they put themselves in the same predicament, and the fact that I have been at Liverpool for 12 years and that I would like to test myself in a foreign country, that's understandable."
McManaman also suffered personal tragedy when his mother Irene, who was bedridden with breast cancer
for two years, passed away during this time.
The combination of these factors meant McManaman suffered a loss of form, but, McManaman managed to rally and pick up his play right at the end of that last campaign. McManaman scored a crucial goal away at Blackburn Rovers, set up a dramatic injury time equaliser with a through ball for Paul Ince to score in front of the Kop against Manchester United, and scored the winner from outside the area with a half volley to complete the full turn around result against Tottenham Hotspur
, after trailing 2 – 0 at half time. In fitting fashion, in what was the final match of the season, and what would be McManaman's final match and final contribution on the pitch for the club, McManaman assisted Karl-Heinz Riedle with a goal at the Kop
with a trademark right wing run and pull back as Liverpool won 3–0 against Wimbledon
, enabling McManaman to end his career at the club to a standing ovation, a lap of honour at Anfield, and a two row squad farewell at the entrace of the players' tunnel.
as joint runner up to Giggs in the PFA Young Player of the Year
awards in 1992, was named in the PFA Team of the Year
for four consecutive seasons from 1994–95
to 1997–98
, and also made the five man shortlist for PFA Player of the Year for three seasons from 1995–96
to 1997–98
, with the PFA website describing him as one of the most gifted players of his generation. For a time he held the record for most consecutive Premier League appearances as an ever present at Liverpool for four seasons including a club record for most appearances, and at the time of leaving the Premiership had the second highest ratio of Premier League assists per game, with 112 assists in 274 appearances, with a total of 142 assists for the club; an average of one assist per two and a half games. As of 2011/12, McManaman holds the 14th position on the Premiership's All Time Assists charts. Until 2011, McManaman held the record for greatest number of assists in Liverpool history, just ahead of Steven Gerrard
, who has since overtaken him. On 5 September 2006, Steve McManaman was named #22 in the official Liverpool website's "100 Players Who Shook The Kop" list, in which Jamie Carragher
described McManaman as "the best midfield player in the country for three or four years" running. When Mark Lawrenson
and Jim Beglin
named McManaman in their team of the 1990s, they said that most managers in the league used the same tactic of marking McManaman to stop Liverpool and whilst it was a tremendous compliment to McManaman, the opposition could stop Liverpool because the tactical system of 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2 was too dependent on McManaman and would fail if McManaman was off form, or if the team was not complemented by a quality defence (players who could play both wingback and centre half to cope with onslaughts), or the presence of a steely defensive midfielder, which was what happened with the team of that time. Nevertheless, McManaman was voted in on the official Liverpool FC website as the club's midfielder of the 1990s,, was named by Ruud Gullit
as one of his top two players from the entire Premier League era, and despite Liverpool fans' disappointment over the nature of how McManaman conducted his departure, it is believed that many fans still regard McManaman (along with Fowler) as the two players who carried Liverpool through the 1990s.
's last signing before being sacked (and while the club was under President Lorenzo Sanz
). Before McManaman arrived, the club was described as undergoing a management and debt
crisis and Raúl González
told the press: "The dressing room is a cesspit of lies, treachery and whispers...I feel sorry for new players like Steve McManaman coming into the club. If McManaman thinks he is coming to one of the world's top clubs then he has made a big mistake." The club appointed John Toshack
as its new coach and had already been forced to sell key players like Predrag Mijatović
, Davor Šuker
and Christian Panucci
due to mounting debt, while Clarence Seedorf
was also released shortly after McManaman arrived. McManaman's arrival saw him become only the second English player to ever play for the club, after Laurie Cunningham
had played for them in the 1980s. He was also the most high profile English footballer to move to Spanish
football since Gary Lineker
had moved to FC Barcelona
from Everton in 1986. Thereafter he proved an instant hit with the fans at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium
after scoring three times and creating several goals in his first few games for Los Merengues.
McManaman made his debut for Madrid on 22 August 1999 in the 2–1 La Liga
win over RCD Mallorca
at the Son Moix stadium, Mallorca
, where he assisted Fernando Morientes
in scoring the injury time winner. He scored his first goal for the club a week later on his home debut on the 29 August, in a 4–1 thumping of Numancia
at the Bernabéu
.
In December 1999 to January 2000, McManaman and the Madrid team took part in the controversial inaugural FIFA Club World Championships in Rio de Janeiro
, where McManaman missed an injury time chance to win the game, and then the penalty kick
against Necaxa
that would have sent Madrid into 3rd place. McManaman and the team then returned to Spain and established themselves as the side that went all the way to the Champions League
Final in 2000, under new coach Vicente del Bosque
, who had replaced John Toshack
in November. McManaman's form in the build up saw him receive several man of the match awards, forming a strong midfield partnership with Fernando Redondo
, as Madrid beat holders Manchester United and Bayern Munich to reach the final. It was at this 2000 UEFA Champions League Final
at the Stade de France
in Paris that McManaman experienced his finest hour as a player – scoring a spectacular volley in a 3–0 victory over fellow Spanish side Valencia
. His performance on this greatest of club football stages saw him hailed the man of the match by the English press, a view endorsed by his Madrid team-mate Ivan Helguera. His part in Madrid's eighth European Cup win saw him become the first English player ever to win Europe's premier club competition with a foreign club.
, closely followed by former Barcelona superstar midfielder Luís Figo
, in a club record transfer, saw the club forced to sell several key players to reduce debt. Fernando Redondo
, Nicolas Anelka
, Christian Karembeu
and McManaman were suddenly told they were surplus to requirements before the start of the 2000-01 season and were put up for sale. When McManaman refused to leave unlike the others, manager Del Bosque told McManaman that he had "little chance of playing this year," and in case he didn't understand his position, the club also declined to give him a squad number for the forthcoming season. With the club already in debt, and having just spent another £37m on Figo, the board were keen to cash in on McManaman and remove his $4.5m salary from the wage bill. McManaman, however, with an iron-clad contract until 2004, declined to leave and instead stated his determination to win back his place in the team.
Real Madrid subsequently accepted first an £
11 million bid from Middlesbrough
and then a £12 million bid for McManaman from Chelsea
that included the exchange of Tore André Flo
, in the summer of 2000, both of which the player stubbornly rejected. A Sky Sports
report in August 2000 also stated that eight other clubs were racing for his signature at the time, including Manchester United, Parma
and Fiorentina
, but McManaman remained adamant even as Sir Alex Ferguson also declared his admiration for McManaman by arranging a contingent to convince him to sign but McManaman said he wanted to succeed in Spain. His stance was rewarded when Real relented after a Spanish poll in El Mundo
showed 90% of the fans demanded the club keep McManaman, while Michel Salgado
complained to the management about the way McManaman was treated after McManaman turned down yet again, another transfer attempt- this time to Lazio, who came in with an 8 million pound offer. Real's change toward McManaman began when Del Bosque gave him his first appearance of the 2000–01 season as a substitute in a 3–3 draw against Málaga
in September. McManaman reportedly won over the manager by October, and managed to feature in two thirds of the club's matches, becoming a first team regular for the second half of the campaign, and held the unique distinction of being described as the only top class football player from England playing overseas at the time. McManaman shone in this second season at Madrid as his club side challenged for the La Liga title and Champions League- where they lost in the semi-finals to Bayern Munich, but won their 28th La Liga crown by a seven point margin over the previous seasons champions, Deportivo La Coruña
.
policy, with worldclass names like Luís Figo
, Zinedine Zidane
, and Ronaldo
arriving each year and standing above him in the pecking order. At the time though, McManaman was known for his dogged determination to stay positive for the club's cause, even if it meant he had less playing time. In 2002, McManaman also turned down a transfer to Internazionale
at the time when he was made available for exchange as part of Ronaldo's signing. It was widely reported in the Spanish media that McManaman's resilience to the team won the respect of his fellow professionals like Raúl
, Zidane, Guti, Iván Helguera, and his two best friends and golf
buddies at the club, Figo and Ronaldo, who backed him publicly on several occasions in press interviews. McManaman was also twice voted as the Real Madrid supporters' favourite player at the club during his tenure, who adored him for his workrate, and where the Spanish media would rave about him regarding anything from his love of the Madrid lifestyle, his willingness to learn the language and immerse into their culture, to his home in La Moraleja, or even his androgynous resemblance
to Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman
, all of which, curiously resulted in bolstering his "affable and amiable" image as the darling of the team at that time. According to El País, in 2001, fans saluted him with their 'white handkerchiefs' (as a terrace favourite) after he acrobatically scored a 'wonder goal' against Real Oviedo
that year.
According to certain critics in the Spanish press, McManaman and several other players became "victims" as the policy was based more on marketing and revenue generation, and sometimes meant players were picked not according to form, but because of their money-making potential off the pitch. To his credit, McManaman never spoke ill of the Galáctico policy's effects on him during his tenure, only critiquing the policy and ultimately describing it in his autobiography
"El Macca" (a book that was shortlisted as the William Hill Sports Book of the Year
), in 2004 as the "Disneyfication
of Real Madrid" upon his departure from the club; a piece of foresight that proved telling for the future as the club never reached its heights in the period ensuing with the policy, and with the term becoming somewhat pejorative to this day.
relented, declaring that a "man like that would always have a place in my club", while Johan Cruyff
described McManaman at the time as the most useful player in the "Galaticos" because he was "everyone's best partner on the pitch." A further honour was also extended on the pitch by the club in the 2001/02 season, where as part of Madrid's Centenary Celebrations, McManaman was made the first Englishman to captain Real Madrid in a game against a FIFA
World XI, to the applause of the ultras
, with whom he was a cult favourite. Arguably his second greatest moment in the white of Madrid also took place that year, in the 2002 UEFA Champions League semi-final against Barcelona
at the Camp Nou
on 23 April 2002. In this match of monumental proportions, due to "El Clásico" being a massive game in its own right, but also the fact that it was a Champions League
Semi-final, McManaman appeared as a second half substitute to score a critical goal in second half injury time to secure a 2-0 first-leg advantage, chipping over goalkeeper Roberto Bonano after being played in by Flavio Conceicao
, after Zidane had scored the first goal on 55 minutes. This notable victory, Real's first at the Camp Nou since 1993, helped secure their place in the final of the 2002 Champions League at Hampden Park
, Glasgow
, where he came on as a replacement for Figo – and thereby ensuring his second Champions League winners' medal, after Madrid secured a 2-1 victory over German team Bayer Leverkusen.
in the Champions' League, even as Ronaldo hit a hat-trick. Nonetheless, after only playing 21 games of which he started only 9 times, and making a meagre 15 appearances in La Liga, questions constantly arose throughout the season about McManaman's ability and reasons for staying in Spain considering his diminished role, lack of first team action and international attention. Suggestions that McManaman had "sold out" for money and had grown indifferent and lackadaisical to his football were rampant in the British Press, though the media were also described as suffering from "a selective media amnesia over McManaman's time in Spain."
Nonetheless, McManaman managed to pick up a second La Liga medal for the year, and was in the squad that won the Intercontinental Cup
in Japan. These trophies, in addition to the others over his four years at the club, meant McManaman became the most successful English football export to ever play overseas. In addition to honours, according to Forbes
magazine in 2001, McManaman was listed as 6th on the list of highest earning footballers in the world, and is believed to have pocketed an estimated 15 million Euros (just under £10,250,000) in his four years with Madrid.
The signing of fellow Englishman David Beckham
proved the last straw in eventually forcing McManaman down the pecking order at Real Madrid. McManaman remained with the club for its pre-season for 2003-04, even after coach Del Bosque was given a shock sacking 24 hours after having won the club's last La liga title, but in the close season, and the arrival of Carlos Queiroz
as new coach, McManaman was released by the club after helping Beckham settle in with the language and despite Beckham's pleas to the management for McManaman to remain.
In a tribute to McManaman, four years after he left the club, ex-coach Del Bosque told Spanish newspaper AS Marca, that McManaman and Geremi Njitap
were the two most important players in his squad, because "together they kept the whole team united."
, Fernando Hierro
and later Fernando Morientes
, McManaman headed back to the Premier League. Initially reported to be joining Arsenal
or Everton
, McManaman eventually decided to join long-time admirer Kevin Keegan
on the 30 August at Manchester City
, resulting in a reunion with several ex-colleagues including Robbie Fowler
, Nicolas Anelka
, and later, David James
, prompting the media to state that Keegan was "reuniting the Spice Boys".
McManaman made his debut on 14 September 2003 in a 4–1 win over Aston Villa
at the City of Manchester Stadium
, and quickly showed good early form, with the club starting with a run of wins and progressing in the UEFA Cup, with McManaman hailed by Keegan to great hype, but by Christmas
that year, results had fallen, the team languished and ended the season, well out of European contention, and McManaman injured again. By 2004/05, McManaman's time at City was ultimately deemed a disappointment and he was increasingly vilified by the City fans, who later jeered him off the pitch following a draw with Norwich City
. Fans also nicknamed him "McMoneyman" pejoratively in reference to old quibs about his reasons for leaving Liverpool, staying in Spain and picking City. On the pitch, a combination of niggling injuries, and the rise of an in-form and up-and-coming Shaun Wright-Phillips
saw him lose his preferred right midfield position. When McManaman did play, he failed to rediscover his old form and speed, only occasionally demonstrating the ability he had shown in his earlier career. Part of the problem stemmed from the fact that in order to find a role at Madrid he had changed his playing style, cutting down on the flair play (as Madrid had a surfeit of flair players) and instead focusing on being a holding player and making short, simple passes of the ball in central midfield, where he was known for his one touch passing and ability to never give the ball away. He was often left to play a mere token leadership role to the new batch of young talent, a role which McManaman was arguably unable to excel in, and which resulted in criticism from fans for being "all talk and not enough action", although youngsters Wright-Phillips, Joey Barton
, Stephen Ireland
and Lee Croft
did cite McManaman as a major motivating influence on them. McManaman also got criticised by Alex Ferguson in an FA Cup Manchester derby
at Old Trafford for "intimidating Gary Neville
" to get him sent off in an infamous headbutt
incident in 2004/05, adding a derogatory comment that he had no idea what other role McManaman had in the game [and possibly for Manchester City].
Off the field at City, Fowler and McManaman were caught up in a sex scandal
that appeared in the News of the World
following a failed attempt by the pair to gain an injunction to prevent publication- costing them £50,000 in addition to making the case look like an invariable admission of guilt. The court case came fast on the heels of football's "roasting
" and rape
allegations at Chelsea
earlier that year and served only to exacerbate their situations and affected their reputations off and on the pitch at the club, while an incident involving Fowler and McManaman and three other players deliberately missing the team bus at Leicester
also did not go down well with the fans, manager and media.
In 2005, McManaman was linked to the New York
/New Jersey
Metrostars, who confirmed that the club were interested in him. However they eventually decided to relinquish their bid stating that "MLS
clubs were keen to lose the reputation that top stars only arrive to play in America for a final swansong in their careers". McManaman played for City for only two seasons and following Kevin Keegan's resignation in March 2005, never played another game for the club. Keegan's replacement, Stuart Pearce
, released McManaman on a free transfer on 20 May.
, McManaman would forever remain an enigma at international level. England coaches, with the exception of Venables and Keegan, utilised McManaman's talents sparingly. McManaman was capped 37 times for England scoring three goals, and with the side only losing three times in the games that he played; two of them significant results- the infamous Euro 96 penalty shootout defeat to Germany at Wembley
in 1996, and the opening day defeat against Portugal in Euro 2000.
team, being handed a debut call-up by Lawrie McMenemy
against Wales
at Tranmere
in October 1990, two months before he debuted for the Liverpool first-team, famously quoting in the process that he had seen "more fat on a chip" in reference to McManaman's skinny
physique. In February 1993, McManaman captained the England Under-21 team
for the first time against San Marino
and scored the last goal in a convincing 6-0 win.
gave McManaman his full debut on 16 November 1994 in an international friendly with Nigeria
at Wembley
, McManaman coming on as a replacement for Newcastle United
's Robert Lee
. By 1995, McManaman was accused of struggling to repeat his fine club form with his country, drawing comparisons to his mentor at Liverpool, John Barnes
. However, he managed to string together a series of splendid match winning performances for his country in Euro 96
, earning praise from even Pelé
, who according to the BBC, touted him as the tournament's best player and said he was the player he "was most impressed" by going on to say that he was "one of the best players in Europe" and could be the "best in the world", tags that McManaman later admitted that he could not live up to. Together with team mates David Seaman
and Alan Shearer
, McManaman was also listed in the official Team of the Tournament, as well as shortlisted behind eventual winner, Jurgen Klinsmann
, for the Most Valuable Player award.
despite being in excellent club form in the years Hoddle was in charge, raising questions about either his effort, his attitude, or his relationship with the manager, with some sections of the British press even lobbying Hoddle to pick McManaman. Hoddle stated in interviews that he wanted McManaman to take up the license to be the bridge between David Beckham and Paul Gascoigne, and often spoke highly of McManaman's ability, but noted that McManaman's best position was "floating" dangerously and it was hard to fit him into a system to suit the team and so he often selected Paul Merson
and the rising Beckham instead. When McManaman (and Fowler) opted out of Le Tournoi in 1997 to choose to undergo non-urgent medical operations ahead of International duty), it was noted that this reportedly lost them their team spots as Hoddle though angered at losing them, found a winning team in their absence, and this made it even harder for McManaman to regain his place later. McManaman made a grand total of four appearances under Hoddle, and only one appearance at the 1998 FIFA World Cup
against Colombia
, as a substitute for Paul Scholes
. When interviewed by FourFourTwo
magazine, McManaman stated: "I think I probably least enjoyed my time when Glenn Hoddle was the manager. But I wouldn't say he was necessarily the worst. He had his ways of training and ways of acting and all managers have different ways of doing things; it's the same with club managers. Sometimes when you join up with England and you don't play as often as you did under a certain other manager – then you'll think it's terrible. I loved going to play with England. For instance, I did get to go to the World Cup even though I only played for 17 minutes. That kind of experience leaves an indelible mark on your mind. So I don't really think of it in terms of "worst"; but going to the World Cup and not playing much was a big thing for me, really, and that was under Glenn, of course." Hoddle also notably arranged for McManaman to meet a disabled fan (and thus fulfill his lifelong wish of meeting McManaman) whilst the fan was on the verge of death, in 1997, to great media acclaim, though the story only broke a year after Hoddle had been sacked from the England job for alleged disparaging comments about disabled people.
after coming on the job. John Barnes spoke about McManaman in his autobiography in 1999 as "probably the greatest individual talent in English football and has to be presented the correct way", and Keegan gave several interviews in 1999 backing up that point; adding that he was finding out how best to utilise McManaman. Keegan eventually decided on deploying McManaman on the left wing on several occasions in 1999 and under Keegan, McManaman finally broke his international goal scoring duck, when he scored twice on 4 September 1999 in the 6-0 Euro 2000 qualifier victory over Luxembourg
, again, at Wembley. Keegan took McManaman's new career at Madrid to reinstate his confidence in him, and handed him a coveted free role ahead of Euro 2000
, stating that "in the past we compromised him...but [following McManaman's UEFA Champions League success], we said 'we'll fit in with you, you've earned that chance' Unfortunately, McManaman played only once in Euro 2000, where he scored the last of his three England goals in a famous opening game against Portugal
, where McManaman put England 2-0 ahead, only for it to end because McManaman got injured after scoring, forcing a tactical switch. McManaman never played for Keegan again as Keegan left the England job two months later in October 2000.
utilised him for his first games in the 2002 FIFA World Cup
qualifiers, including a game back at Anfield against Finland- where McManaman setup David Beckham's winner- but then apparently left a message on McManaman's answering machine
to inform him that he was not going to be in the final 2002 FIFA World Cup
England squad in early 2002. Despite the pleas of McManaman's Real Madrid team mates Zidane and Fernando Hierro
for McManaman's case, McManaman said he never ever heard from or met Eriksson again. Zidane went on to state England had made a mistake, and described McManaman with a rare passion as one of the highest quality players he ever played with: "I was surprised when McManaman was left out of the last England squad. I couldn't believe they would ignore a player of his quality. Now people are talking about the fact that maybe he will get his chance because David Beckham is injured. But McManaman is far better than just being a replacement for Beckham. McManaman should be in the starting line-up anyway." Support for McManaman also came before the 2002 World Cup in the British media, after Sky Sports
published an article based on OPTA statistics, revealing that despite a poor goalscoring record, McManaman had in fact an 88% dribbling completion rate (having embarked on a run every 17 minutes), and an 84% pass completion rate, all three of which were higher by over 15% than any English midfield Premiership player at the time.
However, by late 2001, after coming on as a substitute when England beat Germany
5-1 in the Olympiastadion
, McManaman put in an inept display against Albania
that saw him banished from Eriksson's team, as that was his final game; making just one substitute appearance after that in the critical qualifier against Greece in 2001. Later that year, he did himself no favours by "choosing not to play" in the game against Sweden by calling the FA to have himself dropped from the squad, before assistant coach at the time, Tord Grip
"put the knife" in his international career when he said "McManaman has never played well for England" and following that, McManaman was not selected for another England squad.
and Gascoigne, McManaman was photographed drinking and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to a Cathay Pacific
first class flight
cabin
. McManaman's reputation was also not aided by the fact that he was also known for being a serial prankster with Fowler, which did nothing to help new coaches' negative opinions about him, with the Spice Boys' image also making it worse, although, colleague Gareth Southgate
did say McManaman and Fowler's antics though "silly", helped foster team spirit
. In 2004, certain journalists even called for McManaman to be included in the Euro 2004 squad, arguing that McManaman's experience would have been worth his inclusion in the side alone, but to no avail as McManaman himself decided to retire shortly after.
in 2005. In early 2006, McManaman nearly came out of retirement to sign for the Hong Kong Rangers
, a club owned by an admirer of his football, Carson Yeung
, but the deal fell through due to McManaman's recurrent injuries which scuppered his fitness test.
In late 2006, McManaman joined production for the film, Goal! 2, the sequel to Goal!
. By the time of release in 2007, McManaman had also become an Associate Producer of the film, and appears in the film as one of the coaching staff for Kuno Becker
's lead character. McManaman was also active in promoting the film with star Anna Friel
at its premiere.
In June 2008, McManaman participated in Steve Nash
and Claudio Reyna
's Showdown in Chinatown
, an 8-on-8 charity soccer game at Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Nash scored two goals in his team's 8–5 victory, which included McManaman scoring one goal and making five of the goals in a team including Thierry Henry
, Robbie Fowler, Jason Kidd
, Baron Davis
, and Suns teammates Raja Bell
and Leandro Barbosa
.
In 2010, McManaman became an ambassador for UEFA
alongside Christian Karembeu
in its Champions League Trophy World Tour, as well as at the Madrid Festival leading up to the Champions League 2010 Final at the Bernabeu. McManaman, has also been taking part in several "legends" squads for testimonial matches and fundraisers, most notably, at domestic level with the likes of ex-Liverpool players, but also for the EFPA- European Association of Former Players- along with a host of retired stars like Hristo Stoichkov
, Enzo Scifo, and Lothar Matthaus
. In May 2010, McManaman played for the Real Madrid Veteranos against Milan AC's Glorie team for charity
known as the Corazon Classic- in front of a crowd of 80,000 at the Bernabeu, and in an all star game featuring Emilio Butragueno
, Figo, Zidane, Chendo, Alfonso
, Paolo Maldini
, Cafu
, Rui Costa
and other world class football stars to a great reception.
In 2011, McManaman joined a number of former star players including Diego Maradona
and former team-mates Luis Figo and Robbie Fowler in a select World XI to play against Chechen
President Ramzan Kadyrov
and his select XI in a match to mark the opening of the new national stadium in the war torn nation's
capital of Grozny
. The match drew criticism from some commentators and human rights groups due to Kadyrov's alleged human rights
abuses.
McManaman commented "This is not a piece of propaganda for us...We are not here politically. We are just here to play football."
of Carson Yeung
's Hong Kong-listed company Grandtop International Holdings Ltd, which subsequently took a 29.9% stake in Premier League side Birmingham City. In August 2009, Carson Yeung confirmed that once his proposed take-over of Birmingham City went through, a role at St. Andrews would be given to McManaman, although he did not specify what role that would be., and by 2010, McManaman was appointed as a board director at Birmingham City, where McManaman assured Steve Bruce
at the time that he was not part of some scheme to take over his job as coach.
In 2007-08, McManaman also got involved with corporate dealings in Hong Kong with companies like Sure Trace Inc, which was setup by another porn
baron and stock market
and IT entrepreneur, James MacKay, who transferred 2/3 of the company to him. The company made news for wrong reasons as Sure Trace had made a number of major contract announcements which had not become actual, revenue-generating contracts and was delisted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company then setup True Product ID as a company to conduct technology joint ventures in China and the company was transferred to McManaman. To protect investors, the SEC suspended Sure Trace Security in August 2005, citing the accuracy of public information regarding its technology sales.
.
commentator
and pundit, providing analysis to ITV
for the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final
, in which he provided the analysis as his old club Liverpool won the trophy. McManaman then went on to take up opportunities for Asia's largest football broadcasters, ESPN Star, in Singapore
in 2006, where he worked alongside commentator John Dykes
and ex-players such as fellow ex-Liverpool star Steve McMahon
.
By 2007, also McManaman became a full time media pundit, having joined Setanta Sports
as a football analyst and, for the 2007/08
season, he was given his own television show -Macca's Monday Night- reflecting on life in the Barclays Premier League. On the show, he played host and was joined by Neil Warnock
, the former Sheffield United manager, James Richardson, Emmanuel Petit
, Tim Sherwood
and Les Ferdinand
. The show was finally axed in favour of "Football Matters", a live late Monday-night discussion show hosted by James Richardson
and Rebecca Lowe
. Renowned for his direct comments, in one of McManaman's broadcasts in February 2008, McManaman found himself criticised in the Liverpool press and by former Liverpool fans when his comments for Setanta after a Merseyside derby, on the ownership issue concerning debt
involving Tom Hicks
and George N. Gillett, Jr. at Anfield went down poorly with the supporters.
Since July 2010, having joined commentator Ian Darke and former Germany
coach Jurgen Klinsmann
as well as Dutch International Ruud Gullit
on the ESPN
coverage team as a commentary analyst for the , McManaman has since signed on with the network to be an in-game analyst for the Major League Soccer
, Premier League, and even 2013 Confederations Cup and FIFA World Cup 2014, and has become a permanent co-commentator alongside Ian Darke
. In late November 2010 and in May 2011, McManaman was the halftime in-studio analyst alongside Gary Lineker and Trevor Francis
for La Liga's El Clasico
broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports +3
.
McManaman married his longtime girlfriend, Victoria Edwards, a Barrister
/Law
lecturer
(who taught at the Autonomous University of Madrid
during her time in Madrid with McManaman), on 6 June 2002, in Mallorca
's Palma Cathedral. Victoria gave birth to their daughter Ella in 2006 and a new baby Lara in 2009. The family divide their time between homes in Bay of Palma
and London and a new home in Cheshire
.
Liverpool
Real Madrid
Individual
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
, winger and playmaker
Playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals....
. Having spent his playing career at two of European football's most successful clubs of the 20th century, Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
and Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, as well as a spell at Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
, McManaman is the most decorated English footballer to have played at any foreign club in terms of trophies won overseas.
McManaman was the first British player to win the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
title twice, and was also the first English footballer to win the Champions League with a non-English club. In 2008, he was ranked third in a Top 10 of greatest British footballers to play overseas, just behind Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
and John Charles
John Charles
William John Charles, CBE , commonly known as John Charles, was a Welsh international footballer best remembered for spells with Leeds United and Juventus. Rated by many as the greatest all-round footballer ever to come from Wales, he was equally adept at centre-forward or centre-back...
.
He is also notable for a contractual saga in the late 1990s, that resulted in his football transfer becoming one of the most controversial and high profile Bosman ruling
Bosman ruling
Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the EC Treaty...
related transfers of all time, with the deal resulting in McManaman once becoming the highest paid British player in history, for the years 1999 through 2001.
After his retirement as a player in 2005, he became a football pundit for Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
and was an associate producer on the film Goal! 2. He was an ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
analyst for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
in South Africa and currently works as an English based in-game analyst
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
alongside Ian Darke
Ian Darke
Ian Darke is an English football and boxing commentator who currently works for ESPN US. Darke was previously one of Sky's 'Big Four' football commentators alongside Martin Tyler, Alan Parry and Rob Hawthorne. He was also the main commentator for Sky's big boxing fights, along with Jim Watt, they...
for ESPN's US and UK coverage of the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
, FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
and Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
games.
Early days
McManaman grew up as an EvertonEverton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
supporter, and after making a small name for himself at tournaments for school and around Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, McManaman's father rejected Everton's offer of a one year contract, and decided to follow Liverpool scout
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
Jim Aspinall instead, which saw McManaman sign for Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
as an apprentice upon leaving school in 1988. McManaman, a natural athlete and Cross Country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
winner at schools level (having trained with the Liverpool Harriers
Wavertree Athletics Centre
Wavertree Sports Park is a large sporting, exercise and leisure complex located in the Wavertree area of Liverpool, England. The sports park is home to the Liverpool Aquatics Centre, Liverpool Tennis Centre and Wavertree Athletics Centre alongside numerous other health and fitness related...
and having once beat Curtis Robb
Curtis Robb
Curtis Robb is a former British middle distance runner, who competed at two consecutive Summer Olympics for Great Britain, starting at 1992 .-External links:*...
, developed through the Youth Training Scheme
Youth Training Scheme
The Youth Training Scheme was the former name in the United Kingdom of an on-the-job training course for school leavers aged 16 and 17, managed by the Manpower Services Commission...
at Liverpool and signed as a full professional on 19 February 1990 in what was to be Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish
Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...
's final full season as manager, eight days after McManaman's 18th birthday.
He made his Liverpool debut as a substitute in the Football League First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
on 15 December 1990, in a 2–0 league win over Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
, and scored his first ever professional goal with a diving header the following season on 21 August 1991 in the 2 – 1 defeat to Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
at Maine Road
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England that was home to Manchester City F.C. from its construction in 1923 until 2003...
. By this stage, Liverpool were now being managed by Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
following the sudden resignation of Kenny Dalglish six months earlier.
McManaman was also at the time, under the private mentoring of John Barnes
John Barnes (footballer)
John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE is an English football manager and former player.During his playing career, Barnes had successful periods at Watford and Liverpool in the 1980s and 1990s, winning the First Division twice, the FA Cup twice, and playing for England 79 times...
as he was being groomed to replace him, and cleaned his football boots as part of the Boot Room policy and British football tradition of apprenticeship at the time.
Under new coach Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...
, McManaman created and scored several crucial goals in the league and FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
, and his performances in his first season established him as a regular first team player. He collected a winner's medal in the 1992 FA Cup Final
1992 FA Cup Final
The 1992 FA Cup Final was contested by Liverpool and Sunderland at Wembley. Liverpool won 2–0, with goals from Michael Thomas and Ian Rush....
as Liverpool triumphed 2–0 against Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
and was named as the man of the match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
having set up the winner for Michael Thomas. He also featured heavily in their run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. It was at this time that McManaman was described by Ian Rush
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...
as the most promising young player at Liverpool.
Success and fame
Although McManaman had a couple of quieter seasons with the advent of the Premier League, he continued to develop a reputation as one of English Football's two wing wizards, alongside Ryan GiggsRyan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
of Manchester United, with both players known to "embarrass defences with their mazy runs, which too often lack the finishing touch they deserve".
In 1993–94
1993-94 in English football
The 1993-1994 season was the 114th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:From the start of this season, the FA Premier League would be sponsored by Carling Breweries - an association which would last for eight years...
, McManaman showed fine form with two goals against Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
and some assists including a spectacular run and assist against Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
. However this form faltered following a confidence drop after an incident with Bruce Grobbelaar
Bruce Grobbelaar
Bruce David Grobbelaar is a former football goalkeeper and manager.He played for a number of clubs in a career which spanned for more than 20 years at professional level, most notably Liverpool during their dominant period in the 1980s and early 1990s.-Early years:In his teenage years, Grobbelaar...
towards the end of a Merseyside derby
Merseyside derby
The Merseyside derby is the name given to any football match contested between Everton and Liverpool football clubs, the two most successful clubs from the city of Liverpool in England...
, when the players exchanged blows after Grobelaar lambasted McManaman for a poor clearance which led to a goal being conceded - an incident recently named as one of the top five bust ups between team mates in Premier League history.
In 1994–95
1994-95 in English football
-Premiership:Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw...
, McManaman got a new million pound contract, and was given a central, freer role by new coach Roy Evans
Roy Evans
Roy Evans CBE was a Liverpool football player who eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become team manager.-Career:...
, who wanted to utilise McManaman's natural running and dribbling ability to drift all over the park. It proved a successful decision as McManaman began mesmerising defences with runs that were later to become hallmarks of the Liverpool side of the 90s. That season he collected a League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
winner's medal after scoring twice in his side's 2–1 win over Bolton
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
; such was his performance that fans named it "The McManaman Final"
1995 Football League Cup Final
The 1995 Coca-Cola Cup Final was played between Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers at Wembley Stadium on 2 April 1995. Liverpool won the match 2–1. Two Steve McManaman goals in the 37th and 68th minutes put Liverpool ahead, but Alan Thompson scored a brilliant goal for Bolton to give them some...
. For his second Wembley final appearance in succession he was awarded man of the match, the Alan Hardaker
Alan Hardaker
Alan Hardaker was an English football administrator for the Football League, a wartime Royal Navy officer, and previously an amateur footballer...
trophy, and earned a tribute from guest of honour, Stanley Matthews
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
; one of the greatest wingers of previous generations, who exclaimed after the final: "He reminds me of me when I was playing...I wish there are more dribblers like him."
By the end of 1995–96
1995-96 in English football
- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....
, McManaman was top of the goal assists charts in the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
with 25 assists over the season, including assists and top ratings in a match, Liverpool F.C. 4–3 Newcastle United F.C.
Liverpool F.C. 4–3 Newcastle United F.C.
The Premier League match between Liverpool and Newcastle United on 3rd April 1996 was voted as the "Match of the Decade" at the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards, and was also significant in determining the outcome of the 1995–96 title race.-Match details:...
- voted the best of the decade in a poll known as the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards
Premier League 10 Seasons Awards
The Premier League 10 Seasons Awards were a set of English football awards which marked the first 10 years of competition in the Premier League, the top-level domestic league competition of professional football in England...
. By now, McManaman was ranked as one of the finest midfielders in English football
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
, and had developed a strong reputation on the European stage following UEFA Euro 1996, earning praise from many at the time, including, Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
, who said "there are few finer sights in world football than the sight of Steve McManaman running down the length of the pitch."
McManaman had also been noted for his versatility in his free role, switching from right to left wings, and his ability to play in central midfield, behind the front pair, or as a forward, with many notable managers including then Ajax coach Louis van Gaal
Louis van Gaal
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal OON is a Dutch football manager formerly in charge of Ajax, Netherlands, Barcelona, AZ and Bayern Munich...
, describing as a role few could pull off the way McManaman had. McManaman was credited for making the role manager Evans gave him work, with the result being that Liverpool were playing some of the most aesthetically pleasing attacking football at the time in England. McManaman was also said to have been one of only a handful of so called "talismanic" players along with Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...
and Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola, OBE, Ufficiale OMRI is a retired Italian footballer and manager, who most recently managed West Ham United from 2008 to 2010, after having been assistant manager of the Italy U-21 under Pierluigi Casiraghi...
in the league at the time known to have the panache to lift supporters from their seats each time he got the ball and managers would deploy a man-marker specifically to follow him for an entire game, with Gianfranco Zola adding that McManaman was the player the Italian national players monitored the most. Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson is a former English football player and manager, and has recently stepped down as a Non-Executive Director at Sheffield Wednesday after formerly relinquishing the chairman role to Milan Mandaric...
said McManaman was "virtually unstoppable" at times, while then Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
manager, Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...
, was quoted at the time as saying that "everyone in the Premiership knows that if you stop McManaman, you stop Liverpool." Roy Evans though, retorted at the time to such press hype to diminish the attention on marking McManaman, with the famous, "I would hate to think we are no more than a one-man team" quote that year as well. It was also at this time that German coach Berti Vogts
Berti Vogts
Hans-Hubert "Berti" Vogts is a German former footballer. He played for Borussia Mönchengladbach and won the World Cup with West Germany in 1974. He later managed Germany , Scotland and Nigeria...
named McManaman as only one of three Premiership players in his select European XI Team.
Spice Boys
However, things started to turn sour for McManaman and some of his team-mates. As their fame increased, tabloid newspaper stories of lad cultureLad culture
Lad culture is a subculture commonly associated with Britpop music of the 1990s."The image of the 'lad' or 'new lad' arose in the early 1990s as a generally middle-class figure espousing attitudes conventionally attributed to the working classes"...
excesses emerged and this, fused with underachievement on the pitch, brought criticism in the media. Defeat to Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
's Manchester United in two title races including the 1996 FA Cup Final
1996 FA Cup Final
The 1996 FA Cup Final was the 51st to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War and was held between two of the biggest rivals in English football, Manchester United and Liverpool.- Build-up :...
, a game where the Liverpool team arrived to inspect the pitch wearing cream coloured Armani suits intensified the criticism. McManaman, Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Frank Redknapp is a retired English footballer who was active from 1989 until 2005. He is now a football pundit with Sky Sports, and an editorial columnist with the Daily Mail....
, David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...
, Jason McAteer
Jason McAteer
Jason Wynne McAteer is a retired Irish footballer, who represented the Republic of Ireland at international level. He announced his retirement from professional football on 12 June 2007,...
, Stan Collymore
Stan Collymore
Stanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England...
, and Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....
were reported to have cashed in on their new found fame as stars of the nascent FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
, to live a high life involving groupies, clubbing
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
and other "high jinks". Modelling contracts and deals with fashion labels like Top Man, Hugo Boss
Hugo Boss
Hugo Ferdinand Boss was the founder of clothing company Hugo Boss.-Early life:Boss was born in Metzingen, Germany. After completing his apprenticeship and one year of employment, he founded his own company in Metzingen in 1923.-Support of Nazism:Boss joined the Nazi Party in 1931, two years before...
and Armani culminated in their collective nickname: 'The Spice Boys
Spice Boys (footballers)
The Spice Boys was a media term used to describe a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers in the mid-late 1990s, seen typically as being composed of Jamie Redknapp, David James, Phil Babb, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Stan Collymore and Jason McAteer...
.' The situation was further aggravated by stories of McManaman and Fowler's lifestyles off the pitch following an interview with the magazine, Loaded
Loaded (magazine)
Loaded, first published in 1994, is a British magazine for men that is considered to be the "original lads' mag". Its motto is "For men who should know better".-History:...
, which depicted the duo as hedonists and scally characters, as well as stories about McManaman and Fowler's lack of decorum and disruptive influence in the dressing room. McManaman responded by becoming the first footballer of his generation to write a weekly column (in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
), although this did not entirely halt the negative tabloid stories nor change his public image.
Labels aside, McManaman was also criticised for scoring too few goals, although he did make up for this with a formidable rate of assists for the likes of Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....
and later, Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
, with Owen saying that "Liverpool at the time was built around McManaman" and was an average team whenever McManaman was not on form. Fowler, meanwhile, regards McManaman till this day, as the best player he has ever played alongside. Jamie Redknapp also added: "He's the most complete athlete I've seen in football. He's got fantastic stamina and pace but he's so strong as well, it's impossible to get the ball off him. He's great to have in your side. You get the ball, give it to him and he does the rest." Whilst acclaimed for his dribbling, the few goals that McManaman did score tended to be spectacular or memorable - most notably an injury time solo goal against Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
, when McManaman scored against them after a 75 yard dribble. Other outstanding goals during his Liverpool career included goals against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
, Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
and scoring the winner in a match against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
with a stunning volley
Volley
Volley is the simultaneous firing of a number of missiles.Volley may also refer to:In sports:*Volley , in tennis is a shot that is hit before the ball bounces on the ground*Volley , an air-borne strike in association football...
, after which he won a PFA
Professional Footballers' Association
The Professional Footballers' Association is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales. The world's oldest professional sport trade union, it has 4,000 members....
Player of the Month award in December 1997.
Contract sagas
Between August 1997 through January 1999, McManaman was also involved in two protracted contractual sagas, one involving his club Liverpool, and the other arising from his private corporate sponsorship dealing with UmbroUmbro
Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...
. The former is especially notable, because it resulted in several negotiations and high profile dealings that fell apart in a lead up to his 1999 decision to exercise his Bosman right
Bosman ruling
Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the EC Treaty...
to move as a free agent and worker when his existing contract expired. It was a deal that was labelled at the time as the most significant Bosman transfer since the very ruling itself, the most lucrative deal by a player under the ruling at the time, and where "McManaman became Britain's first high-profile Bosman departure", heralding a new era of financial gains in football.
The deal showcased the effect of the ruling and how it placed negotiation power in the hands of the players and their market values, as opposed to formerly, their employers/clubs, and McManaman's case was viewed as the first case of the like, followed in 2001 by Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's...
, though, it was not officially classified as one of the consequences of the negative effect of the ruling, with UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
declaring in 2005, that they were seeking to repair other aspects of the ruling, such as its causation of a rich-poor gap between elite and smaller clubs.
Club level
Prior to the start of the 1996–97
1996-97 in English football
The 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :...
as well as 1997–98
1997-98 in English football
The 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title...
seasons, Liverpool received various bids for McManaman. Having initially rebuffed all approaches for two years running, Liverpool's board of directors, at the time including David Moores
David Moores
David R Moores is the former chairman and now honorary life president of Liverpool F.C..-Liverpool FC:He became Chairman on 18 September 1991. He owned 17,850 shares in Liverpool F.C. which represented 51% of the club. His uncle, Sir John Moores, was chairman of Everton, never Liverpool FC,...
, decided that continually rejecting those bids was risky given the possibility of McManaman allowing his contract to expire and leaving on a "Bosman"
Bosman ruling
Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the EC Treaty...
transfer for nothing, and so eventually accepted a lucrative offer of £12.5 million in August 1997 from FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
. The board hoped that recouping what would have been the nation's second highest transfer fee (behind Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
's 1996 15 million move to Newcastle) would help in justifying the move to the fans, many of whom viewed McManaman as the linchpin and playmaker of the side at the time.
By the end of August 1997, Liverpool's deal with Barcelona for McManaman fell through, with the player's excessive wage demands being blamed for the collapse by Barcelona, although, it was felt in some quarters that McManaman had simply been a pawn
Pawn (chess)
The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
in Barcelona's negotiations to acquire Rivaldo
Rivaldo
Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira , commonly known simply as Rivaldo , is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for São Paulo, on loan from Mogi Mirim, as an attacking midfielder and sometimes as a supporting striker.He most notably played five years with Spanish club FC Barcelona, with whom he...
- to pressure Rivaldo to sign quickly while at the same time toying with McManaman, in case they managed to obtain him for a lower wage. The latter has been deemed to be unlikely, as in an interview, Barcelona's advisor Sir Bobby Robson
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
, who had initially brokered the original deal, was reported as saying that he then dissuaded Barcelona's management at the time from signing McManaman ahead of Rivaldo right at the last moment, because he decided that McManaman was a "cosmetic player" who would not score the club enough goals despite his skill. Barcelona then emerged saying that McManaman was not the player they were seeking in the end, as they did not just need a playmaker, but a proven goalscorer. McManaman's sports agent
Sports agent
A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...
Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller is a British artist manager, television producer and creator of the Idol franchise, first seen as Pop Idol in the UK. Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show So You Think You Can Dance and other U.S...
of 19 Management
19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, United States, is a creator and producer of entertainment properties based around the areas of Music and Television / Film, including American Idol in the United States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom as well as versions of the Idol series in more than...
, was reported as having sent Barcelona McManaman's contractual terms and personal terms- which he said were reasonable to the price Barcelona were paying, before flying out, only for Barcelona to renege on the deal after McManaman had arrived, fail to meet him at the Ritz Carlton, and have President Joan Gaspart
Joan Gaspart
Joan Gaspart i Solves is a Spanish businessman and a former FC Barcelona president between July 2000 and February 2003. He was born in Barcelona. He is known as one of the best vice presidents of the club but one of the worst presidents...
cancel the deal, citing the "excessive" personal terms as the reason.
As the deal collapsed, the English press ran headlines about the deal with phrases such as "Greedy", in reference to McManaman, and some newspapers reported that McManaman had deliberately "priced himself out of a move" by demanding 2 million pounds a year and another 2 million for a signing on fee. Some sections of the British media however, noted that it was impossible that McManaman could have been responsible for the breakdown in talks due to pricing himself out of a move, as he lacked a motive; he would have been doubling his pay check if the deal went through, and due to being sold against his wishes, would have pocketed a severance payment of around 200,000 pounds from Liverpool.
Amid the fiasco, Liverpool's board members found themselves at the centre of controversy, as it emerged that they allegedly agreed to sell McManaman behind his back, following an emergency meeting. McManaman meanwhile, claimed innocence throughout; that he flew over for the talks only because he was shocked that Liverpool were willing to sell him in the first place, and that he had been the subject of Barcelona's trading tactics. McManaman however, is believed to have known that he would have been making his debut against Real Madrid for Barcelona, according at the time, to Bobby Robson, so this raised questions about McManaman's claim to not know about the deal as Robson had clearly spoken to him and Roy Evans in the week leading up to the offer. Nonetheless, McManaman claimed it was all a ruse
Deception
Deception, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, bad faith, and subterfuge are acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth . Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, and sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment...
that defied his wishes: "I was surprised when Liverpool said they would let Barcelona talk to to me because I did not want to join them. Liverpool could have simply rejected the deal. I went to speak to them out of courtesy only to discover they did not want to talk to me. Why they did that I do not know, but you can draw your own conclusions. They were negotiating with another player and maybe that says it all. I have maintained all along that I would not leave Liverpool unless they didn't want me any longer."
Liverpool then responded by saying they only were willing to sell McManaman because no agreement on a deal seemed to be reached, with the club releasing an official press statement that said: 'For several months Liverpool Football Club have attempted to renegotiate a new contract with Steve McManaman without reaching agreement to keep the player at Anfield beyond the length of his current contract. This week Liverpool received an eight-figure offer from Barcelona and felt obliged to inform the player and give him the opportunity, if he wished, of speaking to the Spanish club. At the same time Liverpool again stressed they wanted Steve to stay and sign a new contract with the club.' McManaman replied, saying: 'Liverpool only made one offer and that was some time ago and they did not follow it up. As I had two years to go on my contract I saw no need to rush into anything. What upsets me most is that the Liverpool fans will have got the impression that I wanted to leave. That was never the case.' A week later, McManaman snubbed Liverpool's 2.5 million pound pay rise offer (to make him level with Paul Ince as the highest paid player at the club at the time), reportedly because he was both angry at having been sold and at Liverpol's official press response.
Liverpool had received scouts from AC Milan and Juventus F.C.
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
for McManaman in November 1997, and subsequently received an 11 million pound bid in November 1997 from Juventus, but turned it down, and denied its existence, presumably to show their commitment to McManaman's claim that he desired to stay and sign, as well as in hope that Juventus would match Barcelona's offer. McManaman too stated that he would not have joined Juventus at that time too, on the basis that he wanted to stay and help Liverpool, and "could not bear to leave them in the lurch". However, McManaman's situation began to look more precarious, and McManaman's reputation with the club and fans began to experience turbulence for the first time, as he repeatedly claimed to be willing to sign a new contract with the club, and even told FourFourTwo Magazine in April 1998's issue that he never said he would leave Liverpool and was often the last player to leave the pitch in order to applaud the fans. Nonetheless, negotiations never led to a new deal and his contract began to wind down. In early 1998 and 1999, Spanish reports stating that FC Barcelona claimed McManaman was going to sign for them emerged again, but this time McManaman rejected the rumours and expressed anger at what he saw as tactics to unsettle him before key Liverpool matches, saying: "How can I be expected to keep commenting on something that has no truth whatsoever.". Yet, McManaman's contract ticked on, and his potential of picking up offers of contracts worth 13 million pounds from overseas clubs in relation to his market value
Market value
Market value is the price at which an asset would trade in a competitive auction setting. Market value is often used interchangeably with open market value, fair value or fair market value, although these terms have distinct definitions in different standards, and may differ in some...
, also saw McManaman demand that Liverpool match that price bracket, with the player rejecting Roy Evans' record breaking 10 miilion pound offer at the beginning of 1998, resulting in an ongoing failure to get an agreement. Despite this, Roy Evans constantly backed McManaman to sign a contract extension repeatedly, stating: "Hopefully he will be signing for us. He's still got 18 months of his contract to run and we'll be having talks with him. He's never said he wants to leave. He's got the option but we still think we've got the best chance of keeping him." McManaman's agent Simon Fuller then also faced FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
sanctions for being an unlicensed agent, and this caused further delay in negotiations as Liverpool were not allowed to deal with an agent unlicensed by FIFA and had to suspend contract negotiations with McManaman for several months in 1998. Liverpool's hopes of retaining the player were also not helped by the position of the club at the time, with McManaman and the rest of the Liverpool team being labelled as 'nearly men' in three title races, having failed to unseat their bitter rivals, Manchester United, as England's top club side of the 1990s. That lingering failure meant inevitable changes at the club, and by July through November 1998, Liverpool appointed Rick Parry
Rick Parry
Rick Parry is the former chief executive of Liverpool Football Club, and the former head of the FA Premier League. He is currently on the board of directors at New York Cosmos .-Career:...
as the new Chief Executive and Gérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier
Gérard Houllier, OBE , is a French football manager, who was last manager of Premier League club Aston Villa. He stepped down on 1 June 2011, following hospitalisation over heart problems towards the end of the 2010-2011 season....
as the new manager replacing Roy Evans, ushering in a new era for the club. Meanwhile, McManaman's failure to get selected by Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
for France 1998, also caused McManaman to reportedly want to move on from Liverpool to a continental side.
Despite having been named Liverpool captain at the start of the 1998–99
1998-99 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...
season, McManaman seized the opportunity of the transitioning of new management, to announce publicly his desire to play abroad, something he previously only hinted at. However, he contradicted himself by also stating that he would wait before deciding on whether to move via the Bosman ruling, or sign a new contract. In October 1998, McManaman was accused of demanding Liverpool pay him 55,000 pounds a week if he was to sign a new contract, and that the Liverpool board feared a wage explosion at the club and rejected it, but the club officially claimed that these were mere "ludicrous" rumours by the press. By this time, numerous European clubs circled the soon-to-be free agent with Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
or Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
appearing the player's most likely destination. The Real Madrid connection was made very clear by late 1998 after José Martínez Pirri flew over just to watch McManaman play twice, and it was announced in January 1999 that McManaman was talking to Real Madrid, with McManaman reportedly offered 60,000 pounds a week and nearly 2 million pounds for a signing on fee. McManaman told The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
: "It was such a tough decision because I have been [at Liverpool] 12 years, but I have always stated that I wanted to play in Europe at some stage. At 27, now is the right time. Real Madrid are the European and world champions and this is a chance to test myself in a top European league." McManaman also refused to pose in a Real Madrid shirt at the contract signing event, in respect for Liverpool fans, and Madrid officials said he made the right decision.
McManaman said he based his decision partly on advice he had received from Paul Ince
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
, Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne , commonly referred to as Gazza, is a retired English professional footballer.Playing in the position of midfield, Gascoigne's career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Gansu Tianma, where he scored at least a goal...
, and Chris Waddle
Chris Waddle
Christopher Roland "Chris" Waddle is a former footballer from England. He played for a number of clubs in the 1980s and 90s, including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday in England, and Olympique de Marseille in France...
, all of whom, he told an interview on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
in 2004, "spoke very highly of [playing abroad]." In early January 1999, McManaman's new agent (Fuller's protege- Public Relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
svengali - Julian Henry
Julian Henry
Julian Henry is a Public Relations executive and media writer based in London UK. He has worked in music PR and journalism since the 1980s, during which time he has released several CDs with the group The Hit Parade...
), announced that he would be flying over to Spain at the end of the month, and by 30 January 1999, McManaman passed a medical and signed an official pre-contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
with Real Madrid. In what was a highly publicised affair covered by the world media, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
described it as a 'Spanish jackpot
Prize
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. Official prizes often involve monetary rewards as well as the fame that comes with them...
', stating that he would become "the best-paid British footballer of all time", while other papers described it as "English football's worst kept secret."
Sponsorship
McManaman's image of being a contract rebel and mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
with Liverpool at the time was also exacerbated when he was involved in an off the field year long courtroom
Courtroom
A courtroom is the actual enclosed space in which a judge regularly holds court.The schedule of official court proceedings is called a docket; the term is also synonymous with a court's caseload as a whole.-Courtroom design:-United States:...
saga from 1997 to 1998 with his football boot
Football boot
Football boots, called cleats or soccer shoes in North America, are an item of footwear worn when playing association football. Those designed for grass pitches have studs on the bottom to aid grip...
sponsor at the time, Umbro
Umbro
Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...
, who sued him that year for breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
for knowingly wearing Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
brand boots in contravention of the deal, and deliberately "blacking out" their logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
on his boots in protest. McManaman argued that his contract was unenforceable and an unlawful restraint of trade
Restraint of trade
Restraint of trade is a common law doctrine relating to the enforceability of contractual restrictions on freedom to conduct business. In an old leading case of Mitchell v Reynolds Lord Smith LC said,...
McManaman's argument was that he was being exploited: "I signed the Umbro contract when I was an inexperienced 18-year-old, before I had got into the first team. I'm prepared to go to court if needs be. Of course, I'm looking after myself. But I'm also in the position where I can make a stand and it might help other young players finding themselves in the same situation." Umbro then issued a writ
Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
restraining McManaman from appearing in other sports products while training or on official business, and said: "McManaman wants to ditch his deal with us. We believe Simon Fuller [his agent] has been telling him that his image is over-powered by Alan Shearer because Umbro use him more effectively and pay him more [250,000 pounds compared to McManaman's 6,000 pounds]. But McManaman gave us the sole right to use his name, picture and autograph on our footwear until the year 2000. Fuller's trying to go back on the deal and we stand to lose £1 million."
The court initially ordered McManaman to fulfil his contract, plus an undertaking to pay Umbro's legal costs of launching contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
proceedings against him in 1997, which McManaman accepted and apologised for. But a year on, McManaman continued to dishonour the deal and then finally won an out-of-court settlement in October 1998, that enabled him to be free to negotiate with other companies for what he regarded as remuneration appropriate to his star status. Though separate as an issue, the event added to the contract saga image McManaman had created at the time, with the media describing McManaman as the "star performer in his own soap
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
", though McManaman's Liverpool manager Roy Evans rushed to his defence. Evans said: "Macca is so laid-back you would never know he was hurting inside. But he has been. Some of the criticisms have been so unfair. Typical of Macca, he's responded magnificently."
Departure
Following his announcement to leave Liverpool, McManaman still had five months left on his contract at Liverpool. New manager Houllier, who replaced Evans as full coach following the failure of their joint-managerial role, was widely believed to want to get rid of the "Spice Boys" mentality and cavalier attitudes at the club having told many players they were surplus to requirements (including Jason McAteer, Phil BabbPhil Babb
Philip 'Phil' Andrew Babb is an English-born Irish former footballer who played as a central defender.Active in England and Portugal, he made over 300 professional career appearances, namely spending six Premier League seasons with Liverpool...
, Rob Jones, Stig Bjornebye and Paul Ince
Paul Ince
Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...
), and officially toed a line saying he wanted to keep McManaman, but said the club had to respect McManaman's decision to exercise his Bosman
Bosman
Bosman is a Dutch surname, and may refer to:* Dick Bosman , American baseball player* Herman Charles Bosman , South African writer and journalist* Jean-Marc Bosman , Belgian footballer...
right to leave at the end of his contract. Houllier said: "It wasn't unexpected. Steve had always maintained that he wanted to move abroad and I have to respect that...Emotionally we will miss him because he's a Liverpool lad, and needless to say as a player you can't fault him because he has immense ability...I will have to replace him, it's my job to go out and find another Steve McManaman.".
Fans' reactions
The decision left many Liverpool fans in shock and anger because they believed McManaman refused to comment earlier on his decision because he waited until he was sure Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
would sign him, stalled on contract talks, and toyed with the fans with his statements, while McManaman claimed he took so long to comment because he was "torn over deciding to leave the magnificent fans." Liverpool fans however, remained split over McManaman's actions, with groups claiming that since he said he always wanted to play overseas, it demonstrated that he had already made up his mind much earlier to leave at the end of his contract, and should have declared that truth, instead of fearing losing his "idol" status with them and constantly claiming to want to sign an extension; thereby misleading the club.
Other Liverpool fans claimed they understood McManaman was in a dilemma because they knew he really wanted to go abroad as he hinted at it since 1996, yet wanted to stay because of sentiment, but because the club tried to sell him off first, McManaman then swayed to change his mind about feeling guilty regarding walking out on the club, and rejected all new contract offers whilst claiming legitimately he was in a dilemma- an act that if true, left fans feeling it was still not the right way to do things even if the club acted poorly as well.
The final fan view; the most predominant view, is an amalgam
Amalgam
Amalgam may refer to:* Amalgam , mercury alloy* Amalgam , material of "silver" tooth fillings* Amalgam Comics, publisher* Amalgam, Gauteng, South Africa* Amalgam , fictional character in the Marvel Universe...
of the other two views, but begins with the different premise that McManaman might not have concretely decided to play abroad before 1998, nor did he necessarily want to do a Bosman. It does however believe the inevitable reality that saw him refuse to sign a new Liverpool contract was linked to the fact that he publicly felt the club did not pay him the wage he felt he deserved (he had accepted Roy Evans' offers but this was not sanctioned by the board and McManaman rejected their offers), and that this was also consistent with his own statements where he said he felt he had been playing good football while the club had not been playing well nor at the highest level of the Champions' league and he needed to test himself with the best. The club then decided to cash in on him when offers came in (with Barcelona), knowing he was not going to easily accept a deal from them (as he was rated highly) and needed a big wage, and all this while he was also inclined to go overseas; leaving on a free if he had to. In this respect, the club genuinely betrayed McManaman by selling him early but not without legitimate grounds for doing so, and McManaman had also betrayed the club by believing he was better than the club, but not without legitimate grounds for leaving as he did see out his contract, did serve the club for a decade, and also was sold by the club first. When the Barcelona deal collapsed, the club's trading image looked awkward and the club had no choice but to change their approach to McManaman and turn down Juventus to make up for this, but by then it was too late to reconcile affairs with McManaman, who by this time had made himself to look like the innocent party by telling fans he never said he wanted to leave. In this way, McManaman was at fault because he never signed, and simply added up all the factors and decided to take the chance to leave by late 1998, hence the talks with Madrid. He then had a gentleman's agreement
Gentleman's Agreement
Gentleman's Agreement is a 1947 drama film about a journalist who goes undercover as a Jew to conduct research for an exposé on antisemitism in New York City and the affluent community of Darien, Connecticut...
with Houllier about leaving before Houllier's continental revolution began, which would have seen the Spice Boys cleared out anyway. Today, many Liverpool fans consider this the most popular view, and this leaves many fans feeling McManaman acted in a self-interested manner even though both club and player were at fault for the whole mess, and many Liverpool fans remain split till this day over McManaman's departure and the whole contract saga affair.
Final games
Whatever the fans' views, the facts remained that in McManaman's final games for the club in the second half of the 1998–99
1998-99 in English football
-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...
season, he began turning in mixed performances, with the media accusing him of playing out his final season in a "desultory manner". His form dipped at times, arguably due to a combination of injuries, being restricted to substitute appearances (as Houllier wanted to cut the side's dependency on his gameplay and replace him), and loss of confidence in certain games where even the home fans turned against him over the contract debacle, with some labelling him a 'traitor' and a Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
figure. McManaman told the media after one such game where he became victim of the "boo boys", saying: "That's understandable, when I came off the other day I knew the reaction there was going to be. But I think if they put themselves in the same predicament, and the fact that I have been at Liverpool for 12 years and that I would like to test myself in a foreign country, that's understandable."
McManaman also suffered personal tragedy when his mother Irene, who was bedridden with breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
for two years, passed away during this time.
The combination of these factors meant McManaman suffered a loss of form, but, McManaman managed to rally and pick up his play right at the end of that last campaign. McManaman scored a crucial goal away at Blackburn Rovers, set up a dramatic injury time equaliser with a through ball for Paul Ince to score in front of the Kop against Manchester United, and scored the winner from outside the area with a half volley to complete the full turn around result against Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
, after trailing 2 – 0 at half time. In fitting fashion, in what was the final match of the season, and what would be McManaman's final match and final contribution on the pitch for the club, McManaman assisted Karl-Heinz Riedle with a goal at the Kop
Kop
Spion Kop is a colloquial name or term for a number of terraces and stands at sports stadiums, particularly in the United Kingdom...
with a trademark right wing run and pull back as Liverpool won 3–0 against Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...
, enabling McManaman to end his career at the club to a standing ovation, a lap of honour at Anfield, and a two row squad farewell at the entrace of the players' tunnel.
Achievements
In spite of the side only winning two trophies during his time with Liverpool, McManaman's achievements at the club were exceptional for a player in a side often labelled negatively. McManaman finished alongside Nick BarmbyNick Barmby
Nicholas Jon "Nick" Barmby is an English footballer who plays for Hull City as a midfielder, where he is also caretaker manager. At his peak he earned a total of 23 caps for England between 1995 and 2001...
as joint runner up to Giggs in the PFA Young Player of the Year
PFA Young Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player aged 23 or under at the start of the season who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football...
awards in 1992, was named in the PFA Team of the Year
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the top four tiers of English football; the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two, whom are seen to be deserving of being named in a "Team of the Year".The award...
for four consecutive seasons from 1994–95
1994-95 in English football
-Premiership:Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw...
to 1997–98
1997-98 in English football
The 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title...
, and also made the five man shortlist for PFA Player of the Year for three seasons from 1995–96
1995-96 in English football
- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....
to 1997–98
1997-98 in English football
The 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title...
, with the PFA website describing him as one of the most gifted players of his generation. For a time he held the record for most consecutive Premier League appearances as an ever present at Liverpool for four seasons including a club record for most appearances, and at the time of leaving the Premiership had the second highest ratio of Premier League assists per game, with 112 assists in 274 appearances, with a total of 142 assists for the club; an average of one assist per two and a half games. As of 2011/12, McManaman holds the 14th position on the Premiership's All Time Assists charts. Until 2011, McManaman held the record for greatest number of assists in Liverpool history, just ahead of Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
, who has since overtaken him. On 5 September 2006, Steve McManaman was named #22 in the official Liverpool website's "100 Players Who Shook The Kop" list, in which Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...
described McManaman as "the best midfield player in the country for three or four years" running. When Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson
Mark Thomas Lawrenson is a former professional football player, a defender in the Liverpool and Irish football teams of the 1980s; he since became a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC and Today FM. He was born in England, but played for the Republic of Ireland because his...
and Jim Beglin
Jim Beglin
James Martin "Jim" Beglin is a former Irish professional footballer.- Life and career :Beglin played schoolboy football in his native city with Bolton and Waterford Bohs before joining Shamrock Rovers in 1980...
named McManaman in their team of the 1990s, they said that most managers in the league used the same tactic of marking McManaman to stop Liverpool and whilst it was a tremendous compliment to McManaman, the opposition could stop Liverpool because the tactical system of 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2 was too dependent on McManaman and would fail if McManaman was off form, or if the team was not complemented by a quality defence (players who could play both wingback and centre half to cope with onslaughts), or the presence of a steely defensive midfielder, which was what happened with the team of that time. Nevertheless, McManaman was voted in on the official Liverpool FC website as the club's midfielder of the 1990s,, was named by Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit
OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
as one of his top two players from the entire Premier League era, and despite Liverpool fans' disappointment over the nature of how McManaman conducted his departure, it is believed that many fans still regard McManaman (along with Fowler) as the two players who carried Liverpool through the 1990s.
1999/2000 success
On 1 July 1999, after 364 appearances and 66 goals for Liverpool, McManaman transferred to Real Madrid as Guus HiddinkGuus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
's last signing before being sacked (and while the club was under President Lorenzo Sanz
Lorenzo Sanz
Lorenzo Sanz Mancebo is a Spanish businessman, former president of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and former owner of Málaga Club de Fútbol, where his son Fernando served as club's president.- Early life :In his youth, Sanz played as a goalkeeper for several minor league Madrilenian teams, including...
). Before McManaman arrived, the club was described as undergoing a management and debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
crisis and Raúl González
Raúl González
Raúl González Blanco , known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for German club Schalke 04....
told the press: "The dressing room is a cesspit of lies, treachery and whispers...I feel sorry for new players like Steve McManaman coming into the club. If McManaman thinks he is coming to one of the world's top clubs then he has made a big mistake." The club appointed John Toshack
John Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...
as its new coach and had already been forced to sell key players like Predrag Mijatović
Predrag Mijatovic
Predrag "Peđa" Mijatović is a Montenegrin football player and former sports director of Real Madrid. He is considered one of Yugoslavia's best players of the 1990s. He was acclaimed as the best athlete of Yugoslavia in 1997...
, Davor Šuker
Davor Šuker
Davor Šuker , is a retired Croatian footballer. He played as a striker for a number of European clubs as well as the Croatian national team, where he is the all-time top goal scorer with 45 goals....
and Christian Panucci
Christian Panucci
Christian Panucci is a retired Italian footballer. He was a member of the Italian national team. Panucci is a right back, but can also play as a centre back.-Early career:...
due to mounting debt, while Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Clyde Seedorf OON is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Milan. Seedorf is the first player to have won the Champions League with three different clubs - Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and Milan in 2003 and 2007...
was also released shortly after McManaman arrived. McManaman's arrival saw him become only the second English player to ever play for the club, after Laurie Cunningham
Laurie Cunningham
Laurence Paul "Laurie" Cunningham was an England international footballer. When he joined Real Madrid, he became the first English player in the club's history....
had played for them in the 1980s. He was also the most high profile English footballer to move to Spanish
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
football since Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
had moved to FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
from Everton in 1986. Thereafter he proved an instant hit with the fans at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
The Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is an all-seater football stadium in Madrid, Spain. It was inaugurated on 14 December 1947 and is owned by Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. It has a current capacity of 85,454 spectators....
after scoring three times and creating several goals in his first few games for Los Merengues.
McManaman made his debut for Madrid on 22 August 1999 in the 2–1 La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
win over RCD Mallorca
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
at the Son Moix stadium, Mallorca
Mallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
, where he assisted Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes Sánchez is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a striker.His main asset was his aerial and strong goalscoring abilities. He played for a number of clubs throughout his career, including Real Madrid, Monaco, Liverpool, and Valencia...
in scoring the injury time winner. He scored his first goal for the club a week later on his home debut on the 29 August, in a 4–1 thumping of Numancia
CD Numancia
Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at Nuevo Estadio Los Pajaritos, with a 10,200-seat capacity.Besides football it has other...
at the Bernabéu
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
The Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is an all-seater football stadium in Madrid, Spain. It was inaugurated on 14 December 1947 and is owned by Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. It has a current capacity of 85,454 spectators....
.
In December 1999 to January 2000, McManaman and the Madrid team took part in the controversial inaugural FIFA Club World Championships in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, where McManaman missed an injury time chance to win the game, and then the penalty kick
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...
against Necaxa
Necaxa
Necaxa is a Mexican football club and is based in the city of Aguascalientes. it plays in the Estadio Victoria. Necaxa is ranked seventh overall and 1st in ranking in Mexican football within the IFFHS Central and North America's Clubs of the Century in the CONCACAF behind CD Saprissa San Juan de...
that would have sent Madrid into 3rd place. McManaman and the team then returned to Spain and established themselves as the side that went all the way to the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
Final in 2000, under new coach Vicente del Bosque
Vicente Del Bosque
Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquis of Del Bosque is a former Spanish footballer He is currently the manager of the Spanish national football team. After taking over from Luis Aragonés who had led Spain to European success in Euro 2008, Del Bosque went on to manage the national team to the...
, who had replaced John Toshack
John Toshack
John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...
in November. McManaman's form in the build up saw him receive several man of the match awards, forming a strong midfield partnership with Fernando Redondo
Fernando Redondo
Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri is a retired Argentine footballer.A defensive midfielder with the ability to contribute both defensively and offensively, he played one full decade in La Liga, mainly for Real Madrid, then finished his career in Italy with Milan.Redondo was a member of the Argentine...
, as Madrid beat holders Manchester United and Bayern Munich to reach the final. It was at this 2000 UEFA Champions League Final
2000 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2000 UEFA Champions League Final took place at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France on 24 May 2000. The match pitted Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Valencia...
at the Stade de France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
in Paris that McManaman experienced his finest hour as a player – scoring a spectacular volley in a 3–0 victory over fellow Spanish side Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
. His performance on this greatest of club football stages saw him hailed the man of the match by the English press, a view endorsed by his Madrid team-mate Ivan Helguera. His part in Madrid's eighth European Cup win saw him become the first English player ever to win Europe's premier club competition with a foreign club.
2000/2001 season
Despite that European Cup Final performance and having established himself as a valuable player in his first year in Madrid, the arrival of a new President in Florentino PérezFlorentino Pérez
Florentino Pérez Rodríguez is a Spanish businessman, civil engineer, former politician, and current president of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, as well as ACS...
, closely followed by former Barcelona superstar midfielder Luís Figo
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...
, in a club record transfer, saw the club forced to sell several key players to reduce debt. Fernando Redondo
Fernando Redondo
Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri is a retired Argentine footballer.A defensive midfielder with the ability to contribute both defensively and offensively, he played one full decade in La Liga, mainly for Real Madrid, then finished his career in Italy with Milan.Redondo was a member of the Argentine...
, Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka
Abdul-Salam Bilal on 14 March 1979) is a French international footballer, who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Chelsea. Anelka was also a regular starter for the French national team...
, Christian Karembeu
Christian Karembeu
Christian Karembeu is a retired French international footballer and current scout for Arsenal Football Club...
and McManaman were suddenly told they were surplus to requirements before the start of the 2000-01 season and were put up for sale. When McManaman refused to leave unlike the others, manager Del Bosque told McManaman that he had "little chance of playing this year," and in case he didn't understand his position, the club also declined to give him a squad number for the forthcoming season. With the club already in debt, and having just spent another £37m on Figo, the board were keen to cash in on McManaman and remove his $4.5m salary from the wage bill. McManaman, however, with an iron-clad contract until 2004, declined to leave and instead stated his determination to win back his place in the team.
Real Madrid subsequently accepted first an £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
11 million bid from Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
and then a £12 million bid for McManaman from Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
that included the exchange of Tore André Flo
Tore André Flo
Tore André Flo is a Norwegian football striker, who plays for the Norwegian club Sogndal. He initially retired after being released by the Milton Keynes Dons in 2009, but announced his comeback in March 2011. His brothers Jostein Flo and Jarle Flo, and cousin Håvard Flo are also professional...
, in the summer of 2000, both of which the player stubbornly rejected. A Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
report in August 2000 also stated that eight other clubs were racing for his signature at the time, including Manchester United, Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
and Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...
, but McManaman remained adamant even as Sir Alex Ferguson also declared his admiration for McManaman by arranging a contingent to convince him to sign but McManaman said he wanted to succeed in Spain. His stance was rewarded when Real relented after a Spanish poll in El Mundo
El Mundo (Spain)
El Mundo is the second largest printed and the largest digital daily newspaper in Spain and one of the newspapers of record in that country, with a daily circulation topping 300,000 readers for the printed edition and 24 million unique web visitors per month for the...
showed 90% of the fans demanded the club keep McManaman, while Michel Salgado
Míchel Salgado
Miguel Ángel "Míchel" Salgado Fernández is a Spanish footballer who plays for Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League, as a right defender.Nicknamed Il Due , he is known for his combative tackling and attacking play...
complained to the management about the way McManaman was treated after McManaman turned down yet again, another transfer attempt- this time to Lazio, who came in with an 8 million pound offer. Real's change toward McManaman began when Del Bosque gave him his first appearance of the 2000–01 season as a substitute in a 3–3 draw against Málaga
Málaga CF
Málaga Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Málaga, Andalusia. The team currently plays in Spain's La Liga.Málaga CF is generally seen as the successor to CD Málaga, one of the most historical Andalusian football clubs, by being a near-identical looking football club that even shares...
in September. McManaman reportedly won over the manager by October, and managed to feature in two thirds of the club's matches, becoming a first team regular for the second half of the campaign, and held the unique distinction of being described as the only top class football player from England playing overseas at the time. McManaman shone in this second season at Madrid as his club side challenged for the La Liga title and Champions League- where they lost in the semi-finals to Bayern Munich, but won their 28th La Liga crown by a seven point margin over the previous seasons champions, Deportivo La Coruña
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...
.
Galácticos' policy
McManaman increasingly saw his playing time reduced each year, as the club initiated their now well known GalácticoGaláctico
Galácticos is a Spanish term used to describe expensive, world-famous Real Madrid football players. This term came into use to describe the policy pursued in the first tenure of Florentino Pérez's presidency at Real Madrid, where he purchased at least one galáctico in the summer of every year...
policy, with worldclass names like Luís Figo
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...
, Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
, and Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
arriving each year and standing above him in the pecking order. At the time though, McManaman was known for his dogged determination to stay positive for the club's cause, even if it meant he had less playing time. In 2002, McManaman also turned down a transfer to Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
at the time when he was made available for exchange as part of Ronaldo's signing. It was widely reported in the Spanish media that McManaman's resilience to the team won the respect of his fellow professionals like Raúl
Raúl González
Raúl González Blanco , known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for German club Schalke 04....
, Zidane, Guti, Iván Helguera, and his two best friends and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
buddies at the club, Figo and Ronaldo, who backed him publicly on several occasions in press interviews. McManaman was also twice voted as the Real Madrid supporters' favourite player at the club during his tenure, who adored him for his workrate, and where the Spanish media would rave about him regarding anything from his love of the Madrid lifestyle, his willingness to learn the language and immerse into their culture, to his home in La Moraleja, or even his androgynous resemblance
Resemblance
Resemblance may refer to:*Resemblance: as in "you have a resemblance to your brother" see analogy and similarity*Resemblance nominalism*Ludwig Wittgenstein's family resemblances...
to Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
, all of which, curiously resulted in bolstering his "affable and amiable" image as the darling of the team at that time. According to El País, in 2001, fans saluted him with their 'white handkerchiefs' (as a terrace favourite) after he acrobatically scored a 'wonder goal' against Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo
Real Oviedo is a Spanish football club based in Oviedo, in the autonomous community of Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, it currently plays in Segunda División B - Group 2....
that year.
According to certain critics in the Spanish press, McManaman and several other players became "victims" as the policy was based more on marketing and revenue generation, and sometimes meant players were picked not according to form, but because of their money-making potential off the pitch. To his credit, McManaman never spoke ill of the Galáctico policy's effects on him during his tenure, only critiquing the policy and ultimately describing it in his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
"El Macca" (a book that was shortlisted as the William Hill Sports Book of the Year
William Hill Sports Book of the Year
The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British literary award sponsored by bookmakers William Hill. It claims to be "the world's richest sports book prize" at £22,000...
), in 2004 as the "Disneyfication
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
of Real Madrid" upon his departure from the club; a piece of foresight that proved telling for the future as the club never reached its heights in the period ensuing with the policy, and with the term becoming somewhat pejorative to this day.
2001/02: Second Champions' League
Eventually, the Board, including Florentino PérezFlorentino Pérez
Florentino Pérez Rodríguez is a Spanish businessman, civil engineer, former politician, and current president of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, as well as ACS...
relented, declaring that a "man like that would always have a place in my club", while Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON , known as Johan Cruyff, is a retired Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team as well as a member of the AFC Ajax board of directors. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with...
described McManaman at the time as the most useful player in the "Galaticos" because he was "everyone's best partner on the pitch." A further honour was also extended on the pitch by the club in the 2001/02 season, where as part of Madrid's Centenary Celebrations, McManaman was made the first Englishman to captain Real Madrid in a game against a FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
World XI, to the applause of the ultras
Ultras
Ultras are a type of sports fans renowned for their fanatical support and elaborate displays. They are predominantly European followers of football teams...
, with whom he was a cult favourite. Arguably his second greatest moment in the white of Madrid also took place that year, in the 2002 UEFA Champions League semi-final against Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
at the Camp Nou
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
on 23 April 2002. In this match of monumental proportions, due to "El Clásico" being a massive game in its own right, but also the fact that it was a Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
Semi-final, McManaman appeared as a second half substitute to score a critical goal in second half injury time to secure a 2-0 first-leg advantage, chipping over goalkeeper Roberto Bonano after being played in by Flavio Conceicao
Flávio Conceição
Flávio da Conceição is a former Brazilian footballer who played as a central midfielder....
, after Zidane had scored the first goal on 55 minutes. This notable victory, Real's first at the Camp Nou since 1993, helped secure their place in the final of the 2002 Champions League at Hampden Park
Hampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, where he came on as a replacement for Figo – and thereby ensuring his second Champions League winners' medal, after Madrid secured a 2-1 victory over German team Bayer Leverkusen.
2002/03 Final season
McManaman was used as a late substitute for games at the start of the campaign and after scoring a goal and assisting in several of new signing Ronaldo's goals, he was given surprise starts. In one of his starts, he scored a brace against AEK Athens in the Champions' league. McManman also started in a famous game in 2003, where Madrid were beaten 4-3 at Old TraffordOld Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
in the Champions' League, even as Ronaldo hit a hat-trick. Nonetheless, after only playing 21 games of which he started only 9 times, and making a meagre 15 appearances in La Liga, questions constantly arose throughout the season about McManaman's ability and reasons for staying in Spain considering his diminished role, lack of first team action and international attention. Suggestions that McManaman had "sold out" for money and had grown indifferent and lackadaisical to his football were rampant in the British Press, though the media were also described as suffering from "a selective media amnesia over McManaman's time in Spain."
Nonetheless, McManaman managed to pick up a second La Liga medal for the year, and was in the squad that won the Intercontinental Cup
Intercontinental Cup (football)
The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
in Japan. These trophies, in addition to the others over his four years at the club, meant McManaman became the most successful English football export to ever play overseas. In addition to honours, according to Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine in 2001, McManaman was listed as 6th on the list of highest earning footballers in the world, and is believed to have pocketed an estimated 15 million Euros (just under £10,250,000) in his four years with Madrid.
The signing of fellow Englishman David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
proved the last straw in eventually forcing McManaman down the pecking order at Real Madrid. McManaman remained with the club for its pre-season for 2003-04, even after coach Del Bosque was given a shock sacking 24 hours after having won the club's last La liga title, but in the close season, and the arrival of Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Manuel Brito Leal Queiroz ComIH is a Portuguese football manager. He is currently the manager of the Iran national football team. A former manager of Real Madrid, and Portugal national football team, he has also twice been Alex Ferguson's assistant manager at English club Manchester...
as new coach, McManaman was released by the club after helping Beckham settle in with the language and despite Beckham's pleas to the management for McManaman to remain.
In a tribute to McManaman, four years after he left the club, ex-coach Del Bosque told Spanish newspaper AS Marca, that McManaman and Geremi Njitap
Geremi Njitap
Geremi Sorele Njitap Fotso , known simply as Geremi, is a Cameroonian footballer who is currently a free agent.-Early career:...
were the two most important players in his squad, because "together they kept the whole team united."
Manchester City
In 2003-04, along with teammates Claude MakéléléClaude Makélélé
Claude Makélelé Sinda is a retired football player who used to play as a defensive midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. Prior to joining Paris Saint-Germain, Makélélé played for Nantes, Olympique de Marseille, Celta Vigo, Real Madrid and Chelsea...
, Fernando Hierro
Fernando Hierro
Fernando Ruiz Hierro is a retired Spanish footballer. He is mostly known for his spells with Real Madrid and Spain, appearing in more than 500 official games with the former and representing the latter on nearly 100 occasions, whilst appearing in four World Cups and two European...
and later Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes
Fernando Morientes Sánchez is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a striker.His main asset was his aerial and strong goalscoring abilities. He played for a number of clubs throughout his career, including Real Madrid, Monaco, Liverpool, and Valencia...
, McManaman headed back to the Premier League. Initially reported to be joining Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
or Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, McManaman eventually decided to join long-time admirer Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
on the 30 August at Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
, resulting in a reunion with several ex-colleagues including Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....
, Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka
Abdul-Salam Bilal on 14 March 1979) is a French international footballer, who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Chelsea. Anelka was also a regular starter for the French national team...
, and later, David James
David James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...
, prompting the media to state that Keegan was "reuniting the Spice Boys".
McManaman made his debut on 14 September 2003 in a 4–1 win over Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
at the City of Manchester Stadium
City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England – also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes– is the home ground of...
, and quickly showed good early form, with the club starting with a run of wins and progressing in the UEFA Cup, with McManaman hailed by Keegan to great hype, but by Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
that year, results had fallen, the team languished and ended the season, well out of European contention, and McManaman injured again. By 2004/05, McManaman's time at City was ultimately deemed a disappointment and he was increasingly vilified by the City fans, who later jeered him off the pitch following a draw with Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
. Fans also nicknamed him "McMoneyman" pejoratively in reference to old quibs about his reasons for leaving Liverpool, staying in Spain and picking City. On the pitch, a combination of niggling injuries, and the rise of an in-form and up-and-coming Shaun Wright-Phillips
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Shaun Cameron Wright-Phillips is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers and the England national team. He is the adopted son of former England international, Ian Wright and the half-brother of fellow professional football player Bradley Wright-Phillips...
saw him lose his preferred right midfield position. When McManaman did play, he failed to rediscover his old form and speed, only occasionally demonstrating the ability he had shown in his earlier career. Part of the problem stemmed from the fact that in order to find a role at Madrid he had changed his playing style, cutting down on the flair play (as Madrid had a surfeit of flair players) and instead focusing on being a holding player and making short, simple passes of the ball in central midfield, where he was known for his one touch passing and ability to never give the ball away. He was often left to play a mere token leadership role to the new batch of young talent, a role which McManaman was arguably unable to excel in, and which resulted in criticism from fans for being "all talk and not enough action", although youngsters Wright-Phillips, Joey Barton
Joey Barton
Joseph Anthony "Joey" Barton is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League side Queens Park Rangers as either a central midfielder or a winger....
, Stephen Ireland
Stephen Ireland
Stephen James Ireland is an Irish footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa.-Cobh Ramblers:...
and Lee Croft
Lee Croft
Lee Robert Croft is an English footballer who plays as a right winger in Championship side Derby County....
did cite McManaman as a major motivating influence on them. McManaman also got criticised by Alex Ferguson in an FA Cup Manchester derby
Manchester derby
The Manchester derby is the name given to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United. The local derby centres on the City of Manchester and Greater Manchester with approximately four miles separating the clubs with City based in east Manchester at the City of Manchester Stadium...
at Old Trafford for "intimidating Gary Neville
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
" to get him sent off in an infamous headbutt
Headbutt
A headbutt is a strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the cranium as areas of impact. Effective headbutting revolves around striking a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead...
incident in 2004/05, adding a derogatory comment that he had no idea what other role McManaman had in the game [and possibly for Manchester City].
Off the field at City, Fowler and McManaman were caught up in a sex scandal
Sex scandal
A sex scandal is a scandal involving allegations or information about possibly-immoral sexual activities being made public. Sex scandals are often associated with movie stars, politicians, famous athletes or others in the public eye, and become scandals largely because of the prominence of the...
that appeared in the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
following a failed attempt by the pair to gain an injunction to prevent publication- costing them £50,000 in addition to making the case look like an invariable admission of guilt. The court case came fast on the heels of football's "roasting
Roasting
Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting usually causes caramelization or Maillard browning of the surface of the food, which is considered by some as a flavor enhancement. Roasting uses more indirect, diffused heat , and is...
" and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
allegations at Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
earlier that year and served only to exacerbate their situations and affected their reputations off and on the pitch at the club, while an incident involving Fowler and McManaman and three other players deliberately missing the team bus at Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
also did not go down well with the fans, manager and media.
In 2005, McManaman was linked to the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
/New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Metrostars, who confirmed that the club were interested in him. However they eventually decided to relinquish their bid stating that "MLS
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
clubs were keen to lose the reputation that top stars only arrive to play in America for a final swansong in their careers". McManaman played for City for only two seasons and following Kevin Keegan's resignation in March 2005, never played another game for the club. Keegan's replacement, Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...
, released McManaman on a free transfer on 20 May.
International career
For EnglandEngland national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, McManaman would forever remain an enigma at international level. England coaches, with the exception of Venables and Keegan, utilised McManaman's talents sparingly. McManaman was capped 37 times for England scoring three goals, and with the side only losing three times in the games that he played; two of them significant results- the infamous Euro 96 penalty shootout defeat to Germany at Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
in 1996, and the opening day defeat against Portugal in Euro 2000.
England U21
McManaman made history by becoming the first player without first team experience to play for the England Under-21England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
team, being handed a debut call-up by Lawrie McMenemy
Lawrie McMenemy
Lawrie McMenemy MBE is a retired English football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton Football Club...
against Wales
Wales national under-21 football team
The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
at Tranmere
Prenton Park
Prenton Park is an association football stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers F.C. The club moved to the current Prenton Park in 1912. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent occurring in 1995 in response to the requirement of the Taylor Report...
in October 1990, two months before he debuted for the Liverpool first-team, famously quoting in the process that he had seen "more fat on a chip" in reference to McManaman's skinny
Underweight
The term underweight refers to a human who is considered to be under a healthy weight. "Underweight" means weighing less than what is expected to be a healthy person . The definition is usually made with reference to the body mass index . A BMI of under 18.5 is usually referred to as underweight...
physique. In February 1993, McManaman captained the England Under-21 team
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....
for the first time against San Marino
San Marino national under-21 football team
The San Marino U21 team is a feeder team toSan Marino senior team.-Current squad:----...
and scored the last goal in a convincing 6-0 win.
Terry Venables & Euro 96
Terry VenablesTerry Venables
Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...
gave McManaman his full debut on 16 November 1994 in an international friendly with Nigeria
Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...
at Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, McManaman coming on as a replacement for Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
's Robert Lee
Rob Lee
Robert Martin "Rob" Lee is a retired English footballer who played the majority of his career for Charlton Athletic and Newcastle United.-Charlton Athletic:...
. By 1995, McManaman was accused of struggling to repeat his fine club form with his country, drawing comparisons to his mentor at Liverpool, John Barnes
John Barnes (footballer)
John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE is an English football manager and former player.During his playing career, Barnes had successful periods at Watford and Liverpool in the 1980s and 1990s, winning the First Division twice, the FA Cup twice, and playing for England 79 times...
. However, he managed to string together a series of splendid match winning performances for his country in Euro 96
1996 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by England, who won the right to host the tournament ahead of bids from Austria, Portugal and the Netherlands. It was the tenth European Football Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first to use the...
, earning praise from even Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
, who according to the BBC, touted him as the tournament's best player and said he was the player he "was most impressed" by going on to say that he was "one of the best players in Europe" and could be the "best in the world", tags that McManaman later admitted that he could not live up to. Together with team mates David Seaman
David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...
and Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
, McManaman was also listed in the official Team of the Tournament, as well as shortlisted behind eventual winner, Jurgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann is a German football manager and former player who is currently the coach of the United States Men's National Team. As a player, Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the German one that...
, for the Most Valuable Player award.
Glenn Hoddle & World Cup 98
However, McManaman failed to win over new England coach Glenn HoddleGlenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
despite being in excellent club form in the years Hoddle was in charge, raising questions about either his effort, his attitude, or his relationship with the manager, with some sections of the British press even lobbying Hoddle to pick McManaman. Hoddle stated in interviews that he wanted McManaman to take up the license to be the bridge between David Beckham and Paul Gascoigne, and often spoke highly of McManaman's ability, but noted that McManaman's best position was "floating" dangerously and it was hard to fit him into a system to suit the team and so he often selected Paul Merson
Paul Merson
Paul Charles Merson is a retired English football player, and former player-manager of Walsall. His playing career has included spells at Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Portsmouth and finishing his playing career at Tamworth. He also played for England 21 times...
and the rising Beckham instead. When McManaman (and Fowler) opted out of Le Tournoi in 1997 to choose to undergo non-urgent medical operations ahead of International duty), it was noted that this reportedly lost them their team spots as Hoddle though angered at losing them, found a winning team in their absence, and this made it even harder for McManaman to regain his place later. McManaman made a grand total of four appearances under Hoddle, and only one appearance at the 1998 FIFA World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
against Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, as a substitute for Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...
. When interviewed by FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo is a football magazine published by Haymarket. Published monthly, costing £4.50, and at about 164 pages long, it published its 200th edition in February 2011...
magazine, McManaman stated: "I think I probably least enjoyed my time when Glenn Hoddle was the manager. But I wouldn't say he was necessarily the worst. He had his ways of training and ways of acting and all managers have different ways of doing things; it's the same with club managers. Sometimes when you join up with England and you don't play as often as you did under a certain other manager – then you'll think it's terrible. I loved going to play with England. For instance, I did get to go to the World Cup even though I only played for 17 minutes. That kind of experience leaves an indelible mark on your mind. So I don't really think of it in terms of "worst"; but going to the World Cup and not playing much was a big thing for me, really, and that was under Glenn, of course." Hoddle also notably arranged for McManaman to meet a disabled fan (and thus fulfill his lifelong wish of meeting McManaman) whilst the fan was on the verge of death, in 1997, to great media acclaim, though the story only broke a year after Hoddle had been sacked from the England job for alleged disparaging comments about disabled people.
Kevin Keegan & Euro 2000
Kevin Keegan quickly reinstated McManaman to the England starting lineupStarting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
after coming on the job. John Barnes spoke about McManaman in his autobiography in 1999 as "probably the greatest individual talent in English football and has to be presented the correct way", and Keegan gave several interviews in 1999 backing up that point; adding that he was finding out how best to utilise McManaman. Keegan eventually decided on deploying McManaman on the left wing on several occasions in 1999 and under Keegan, McManaman finally broke his international goal scoring duck, when he scored twice on 4 September 1999 in the 6-0 Euro 2000 qualifier victory over Luxembourg
Luxembourg national football team
The Luxembourg national football team is the national football team of Luxembourg, and is controlled by the Luxembourg Football Federation. The team play most of their home matches at the Stade Josy Barthel, in Luxembourg.- History :...
, again, at Wembley. Keegan took McManaman's new career at Madrid to reinstate his confidence in him, and handed him a coveted free role ahead of Euro 2000
2000 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, or Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Football Championship, which is held every four years and organized by UEFA, association football's governing body in Europe....
, stating that "in the past we compromised him...but [following McManaman's UEFA Champions League success], we said 'we'll fit in with you, you've earned that chance' Unfortunately, McManaman played only once in Euro 2000, where he scored the last of his three England goals in a famous opening game against Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
, where McManaman put England 2-0 ahead, only for it to end because McManaman got injured after scoring, forcing a tactical switch. McManaman never played for Keegan again as Keegan left the England job two months later in October 2000.
Post 2001 omission
The last of McManaman's caps came in 2001 when Sven-Göran ErikssonSven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....
utilised him for his first games in the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
qualifiers, including a game back at Anfield against Finland- where McManaman setup David Beckham's winner- but then apparently left a message on McManaman's answering machine
Answering machine
The answering machine or message machine, also known as the telephone answering machine in the UK and some Commonwealth countries) and previously known as an ansaphone, ansafone, or telephone answering device is a device for answering telephones and recording callers' messages.Unlike voicemail,...
to inform him that he was not going to be in the final 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
England squad in early 2002. Despite the pleas of McManaman's Real Madrid team mates Zidane and Fernando Hierro
Fernando Hierro
Fernando Ruiz Hierro is a retired Spanish footballer. He is mostly known for his spells with Real Madrid and Spain, appearing in more than 500 official games with the former and representing the latter on nearly 100 occasions, whilst appearing in four World Cups and two European...
for McManaman's case, McManaman said he never ever heard from or met Eriksson again. Zidane went on to state England had made a mistake, and described McManaman with a rare passion as one of the highest quality players he ever played with: "I was surprised when McManaman was left out of the last England squad. I couldn't believe they would ignore a player of his quality. Now people are talking about the fact that maybe he will get his chance because David Beckham is injured. But McManaman is far better than just being a replacement for Beckham. McManaman should be in the starting line-up anyway." Support for McManaman also came before the 2002 World Cup in the British media, after Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
published an article based on OPTA statistics, revealing that despite a poor goalscoring record, McManaman had in fact an 88% dribbling completion rate (having embarked on a run every 17 minutes), and an 84% pass completion rate, all three of which were higher by over 15% than any English midfield Premiership player at the time.
However, by late 2001, after coming on as a substitute when England beat Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
5-1 in the Olympiastadion
Olympic Stadium (Munich)
Olympiastadion is a stadium located in Munich, Germany. Situated at the heart of the Olympiapark München in northern Munich, the stadium was built as the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics....
, McManaman put in an inept display against Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
that saw him banished from Eriksson's team, as that was his final game; making just one substitute appearance after that in the critical qualifier against Greece in 2001. Later that year, he did himself no favours by "choosing not to play" in the game against Sweden by calling the FA to have himself dropped from the squad, before assistant coach at the time, Tord Grip
Tord Grip
Tord Grip is a Swedish football manager. Prior to England's exit in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was one of Sven-Göran Eriksson's assistant coaches of the English national football team....
"put the knife" in his international career when he said "McManaman has never played well for England" and following that, McManaman was not selected for another England squad.
Critics' and fans' analysis
McManaman was once described as "England's forgotten man" but was also accused of being apathetic and having a laidback attitude and having a reputation for being a troublemaker, which began after an infamous "dentists' chair" incident before Euro96, where along with Teddy SheringhamTeddy Sheringham
Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester...
and Gascoigne, McManaman was photographed drinking and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to a Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport, although the airline's registered office is on the 33rd floor of One Pacific Place...
first class flight
Flight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
cabin
Aircraft cabin
An aircraft cabin is the section of an aircraft in which passengers travel. At cruising altitudes of modern commercial aircraft the surrounding atmosphere is too thin to breathe without an oxygen mask, so cabins are pressurized at a higher pressure than ambient pressure at altitude.In commercial...
. McManaman's reputation was also not aided by the fact that he was also known for being a serial prankster with Fowler, which did nothing to help new coaches' negative opinions about him, with the Spice Boys' image also making it worse, although, colleague Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate in Crawley, West Sussex is a retired English footballer and ex-manager. He is known as the "Penalty Misser of '96." He served as manager of Middlesbrough from June 2006, until he was dismissed in October 2009...
did say McManaman and Fowler's antics though "silly", helped foster team spirit
Team Spirit
Team Spirit was a joint military training exercise of United States Forces Korea and the Military of South Korea held between 1976 and 1993. The exercise was scheduled from 1994 to 1996 but cancelled in each year as part of diplomacy to encourage the Government of North Korea to disable the North...
. In 2004, certain journalists even called for McManaman to be included in the Euro 2004 squad, arguing that McManaman's experience would have been worth his inclusion in the side alone, but to no avail as McManaman himself decided to retire shortly after.
Post playing career
McManaman retired from his playing career after being released by Manchester CityManchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
in 2005. In early 2006, McManaman nearly came out of retirement to sign for the Hong Kong Rangers
Hong Kong Rangers
Hong Kong Rangers Football Club , is a Hong Kong football club and plays in Hong Kong Second Division League. It won the Hong Kong League once, the Senior Challenge Shield 4 times, the FA Cup twice.The club was once played under the name Biu Chun...
, a club owned by an admirer of his football, Carson Yeung
Carson Yeung
Carson Yeung Ka Sing is a businessman from Hong Kong. He is the chairman and an executive director of Birmingham International Holdings , an investment, entertainment and sportswear firm registered in the Cayman Islands, through which he owns English football club Birmingham City F.C...
, but the deal fell through due to McManaman's recurrent injuries which scuppered his fitness test.
Film/Charity appearances & UEFA Ambassador
In October 2006, McManaman played in a charity match for Liverpool Legends against Celtic Legends.In late 2006, McManaman joined production for the film, Goal! 2, the sequel to Goal!
Goal! (film)
Goal! is a 2005 film directed by Danny Cannon. It is the first installment of a trilogy also named Goal!. This film was made with full cooperation from FIFA, which is one of the reasons actual teams and players are used throughout the film...
. By the time of release in 2007, McManaman had also become an Associate Producer of the film, and appears in the film as one of the coaching staff for Kuno Becker
Kuno Becker
Eduardo Kuno Becker Paz is a Mexican actor who has worked in telenovelas, Mexican cinema and U.S. cinema, but is best known for his portrayal of Ruben Berrizabal in Soñadoras and Santiago Muñez in the football movie Goal! and following sequels.-Early years:Becker was born in Mexico City to Manuel...
's lead character. McManaman was also active in promoting the film with star Anna Friel
Anna Friel
Anna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
at its premiere.
In June 2008, McManaman participated in Steve Nash
Steve Nash
Stephen John "Steve" Nash, OC, OBC is a South African-born Canadian professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association . Nash enjoyed a successful high-school basketball career, and he was eventually given a scholarship by Santa Clara...
and Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna is a retired American soccer player and the current USSF US Youth Soccer Technical Director. He was the captain of the United States national team before retiring from international football following the USA's exit from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is widely considered one of the...
's Showdown in Chinatown
Showdown in Chinatown
Showdown in Chinatown is an annual charity soccer match organized by basketball player Steve Nash and soccer player Claudio Reyna to benefit their respective charity foundations. The first edition was a nine-a-side match played on June 25, 2008 while the second edition was an eight-a-side match...
, an 8-on-8 charity soccer game at Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Nash scored two goals in his team's 8–5 victory, which included McManaman scoring one goal and making five of the goals in a team including Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
, Robbie Fowler, Jason Kidd
Jason Kidd
Jason Frederick Kidd is an American professional basketball point guard who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. Raised in Oakland, California, Kidd played college basketball at the University of California, Berkeley and was drafted second overall by the Dallas...
, Baron Davis
Baron Davis
Baron Walter Louis Davis is an American professional basketball player with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. Drafted as the third pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Davis was a star at Crossroads School and UCLA....
, and Suns teammates Raja Bell
Raja Bell
Raja Bell is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Utah Jazz of the NBA. Bell is known for his three-point shooting and intense defense.- Biography :Bell was born in Saint Croix, in the U.S...
and Leandro Barbosa
Leandro Barbosa
Leandro Mateus Barbosa is a Brazilian professional basketball player, who plays at the guard position with Flamengo Basketball in Brazil. He is also under contract with the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors, and is expected to return to that team once the 2011 NBA lockout ends...
.
In 2010, McManaman became an ambassador for UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
alongside Christian Karembeu
Christian Karembeu
Christian Karembeu is a retired French international footballer and current scout for Arsenal Football Club...
in its Champions League Trophy World Tour, as well as at the Madrid Festival leading up to the Champions League 2010 Final at the Bernabeu. McManaman, has also been taking part in several "legends" squads for testimonial matches and fundraisers, most notably, at domestic level with the likes of ex-Liverpool players, but also for the EFPA- European Association of Former Players- along with a host of retired stars like Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv) is a retired Bulgarian footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger , The Dog , The Modern Left...
, Enzo Scifo, and Lothar Matthaus
Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Herbert Matthäus , is a German football manager and former player.In 1990, he was named European Footballer of the Year and World Soccer Player of the Year after captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup...
. In May 2010, McManaman played for the Real Madrid Veteranos against Milan AC's Glorie team for charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
known as the Corazon Classic- in front of a crowd of 80,000 at the Bernabeu, and in an all star game featuring Emilio Butragueno
Emilio Butragueño
Emilio Butragueño Santos is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a striker.He was best known for his spell with Real Madrid...
, Figo, Zidane, Chendo, Alfonso
Alfonso
Alfonso , Alfons , Afonso , Affonso , Alphonse, Alfonse , Αλφόνσος , Alphonsus , Alphons , Alfonsu in ,...
, Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
, Cafu
Cafu
Marcos Evangelista de Moraes , better known as Cafu, is a former Brazilian footballer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest right-backs ever. He was given this nickname due to his speed up and down the right flank which was reminiscent of Cafuringa, a Brazilian forward from the 1970s...
, Rui Costa
Rui Costa
Rui Manuel César Costa, OIH is a former Portuguese football player and current Director of Football for Sport Lisboa e Benfica. An attacking midfielder also capable of playing as a deep-seated defensive midfielder, he most recently played for Portuguese club Benfica...
and other world class football stars to a great reception.
In 2011, McManaman joined a number of former star players including Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
and former team-mates Luis Figo and Robbie Fowler in a select World XI to play against Chechen
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
President Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
and his select XI in a match to mark the opening of the new national stadium in the war torn nation's
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
capital of Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
. The match drew criticism from some commentators and human rights groups due to Kadyrov's alleged human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses.
McManaman commented "This is not a piece of propaganda for us...We are not here politically. We are just here to play football."
Corporate work
In July 2007, McManaman was named executive directorExecutive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of Carson Yeung
Carson Yeung
Carson Yeung Ka Sing is a businessman from Hong Kong. He is the chairman and an executive director of Birmingham International Holdings , an investment, entertainment and sportswear firm registered in the Cayman Islands, through which he owns English football club Birmingham City F.C...
's Hong Kong-listed company Grandtop International Holdings Ltd, which subsequently took a 29.9% stake in Premier League side Birmingham City. In August 2009, Carson Yeung confirmed that once his proposed take-over of Birmingham City went through, a role at St. Andrews would be given to McManaman, although he did not specify what role that would be., and by 2010, McManaman was appointed as a board director at Birmingham City, where McManaman assured Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...
at the time that he was not part of some scheme to take over his job as coach.
In 2007-08, McManaman also got involved with corporate dealings in Hong Kong with companies like Sure Trace Inc, which was setup by another porn
PORN
Porn is a common short form for pornography. It may also refer to:* Progressive outer retinal necrosis, a disease of the retina* PORN, a French industrial rock band...
baron and stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
and IT entrepreneur, James MacKay, who transferred 2/3 of the company to him. The company made news for wrong reasons as Sure Trace had made a number of major contract announcements which had not become actual, revenue-generating contracts and was delisted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company then setup True Product ID as a company to conduct technology joint ventures in China and the company was transferred to McManaman. To protect investors, the SEC suspended Sure Trace Security in August 2005, citing the accuracy of public information regarding its technology sales.
Management intentions
In January 2009, McManaman gave a press interview where he revealed his intention to go into management. "I’m still thinking of getting back into the game and hopefully I will do my coaching badges at some point this year...It is going to be hard, though. There seems to be far less jobs available for the younger guys. Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Tony Adams – it seems as if people have got it in for them. It's becoming a bit less attractive...If I do get back in, I don’t want to be a coach...I want to be a manager, but that's easier said than done...I want to be able to pick the team, make the decisions and everything that goes with it. That said, I can’t do anything without my badges", he told the Liverpool EchoLiverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
.
Media career
McManaman first got a taste for media work in 2005 after he became active as a freelance mediaMass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
and pundit, providing analysis to ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
for the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final
2005 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2005 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and Milan of Italy at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 May 2005...
, in which he provided the analysis as his old club Liverpool won the trophy. McManaman then went on to take up opportunities for Asia's largest football broadcasters, ESPN Star, in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 2006, where he worked alongside commentator John Dykes
John Dykes
John Dykes is an international sports broadcaster, especially well known in Asia after working for almost a decade as host of ESPN STAR Sports' coverage of the Premier League and European football.- Biography :...
and ex-players such as fellow ex-Liverpool star Steve McMahon
Steve McMahon
Stephen Joseph McMahon is an English former football midfielder who most notably played for Liverpool in the late 1980s...
.
By 2007, also McManaman became a full time media pundit, having joined Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
as a football analyst and, for the 2007/08
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
season, he was given his own television show -Macca's Monday Night- reflecting on life in the Barclays Premier League. On the show, he played host and was joined by Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....
, the former Sheffield United manager, James Richardson, Emmanuel Petit
Emmanuel Petit
Emmanuel "Manu" Laurent Petit is a retired French footballer, who played his club football for Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea...
, Tim Sherwood
Tim Sherwood
Timothy "Tim" Sherwood is an English former professional footballer who was captain of Blackburn Rovers' Premiership title-winning side...
and Les Ferdinand
Les Ferdinand
Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE is a former English footballer. His playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Besiktas J.K., Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers F.C., during which period he earned a number of appearances for England...
. The show was finally axed in favour of "Football Matters", a live late Monday-night discussion show hosted by James Richardson
James Richardson (television presenter)
James "AC Jimbo" Richardson is a television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a former presenter of Channel 4's Football Italia programme and co-presenter of Setanta Sports' The Friday Football Show and Football Matters...
and Rebecca Lowe
Rebecca Lowe
Rebecca Lowe is a sports reporter and presenter for ESPN. She previously worked at the BBC, and Setanta Sports.-Biography:...
. Renowned for his direct comments, in one of McManaman's broadcasts in February 2008, McManaman found himself criticised in the Liverpool press and by former Liverpool fans when his comments for Setanta after a Merseyside derby, on the ownership issue concerning debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
involving Tom Hicks
Tom Hicks
Thomas Ollis Hicks, Sr. , is an American 'leveraged buyout' businessman living in Dallas, Texas. Despite Forbes Magazine estimating Hicks' wealth at USD 1 billion in 2009, Hicks was unable to pay off joint loans of circa £200 million the following year...
and George N. Gillett, Jr. at Anfield went down poorly with the supporters.
Since July 2010, having joined commentator Ian Darke and former Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
coach Jurgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann is a German football manager and former player who is currently the coach of the United States Men's National Team. As a player, Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the German one that...
as well as Dutch International Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit
OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
on the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
coverage team as a commentary analyst for the , McManaman has since signed on with the network to be an in-game analyst for the Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
, Premier League, and even 2013 Confederations Cup and FIFA World Cup 2014, and has become a permanent co-commentator alongside Ian Darke
Ian Darke
Ian Darke is an English football and boxing commentator who currently works for ESPN US. Darke was previously one of Sky's 'Big Four' football commentators alongside Martin Tyler, Alan Parry and Rob Hawthorne. He was also the main commentator for Sky's big boxing fights, along with Jim Watt, they...
. In late November 2010 and in May 2011, McManaman was the halftime in-studio analyst alongside Gary Lineker and Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player...
for La Liga's El Clasico
El Clásico
El Clásico , also known as El derbi Español, is the name given in football to a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. It is contested twice a year in the Spanish La Liga competition, and more often if the clubs meet in other competitions...
broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports +3
Al Jazeera Sports +3
Al Jazeera Sports +3 is a pan-Arabic TV sports channel and part of the Al Jazeera Network. It is the first Al Jazeera Sport Channel to broadcast commentary in English, and has received positive reviews on behalf of English speaking viewers...
.
Personal life
Together with Robbie Fowler, McManaman has invested in several racehorses through a company named The Macca and Growler Partnership, their most prolific horse being Seebald, winner of 2003 Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Celebration Chase. McManaman's grandfather was a bookie and his father described the family as having "horseracing in their blood."McManaman married his longtime girlfriend, Victoria Edwards, a Barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
/Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
(who taught at the Autonomous University of Madrid
Autonomous University of Madrid
The Autonomous University of Madrid is one of the top university of Spain and commonly known by its Spanish initials UAM or as "la Autónoma"...
during her time in Madrid with McManaman), on 6 June 2002, in Mallorca
Mallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
's Palma Cathedral. Victoria gave birth to their daughter Ella in 2006 and a new baby Lara in 2009. The family divide their time between homes in Bay of Palma
Bay of Palma
The Bay of Palma is a bay located to the south of Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain. It is in the south-west of the Balearic Island of Mallorca. Palma de Mallorca's harbour is located on the northern shores along with some famous beaches. Bounded to the west by Cape Cala Figuera, the north by...
and London and a new home in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
.
Honours
| Country | Club | Season | Domestic League | Domestic Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | |||
 |
Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... |
1989–99 | 274 | 46 | 112 | 59 | 15 | 20 | 31 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 364 | 66 | 142 |
 |
Real Madrid Real Madrid C.F. Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la... |
1999–03 | 94 | 8 | 20 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 43 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 157 | 14 | 33 |
| |
Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894... |
2003–05 | 35 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 7 |
| Career Totals | 403 | 54 | 138 | 80 | 16 | 22 | 78 | 10 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 579 | 80 | 182 | ||
Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
- Winner: 19921992 FA Cup FinalThe 1992 FA Cup Final was contested by Liverpool and Sunderland at Wembley. Liverpool won 2–0, with goals from Michael Thomas and Ian Rush....
- Runner-up: 19961996 FA Cup FinalThe 1996 FA Cup Final was the 51st to be held at Wembley Stadium after the Second World War and was held between two of the biggest rivals in English football, Manchester United and Liverpool.- Build-up :...
- Winner: 1992
- League CupLeague CupIn association football, a League Cup or Secondary Cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament to be called "League Cup" was held in Scotland in 1946/47 and was entitled the Scottish...
- Winner: 19951995 Football League Cup FinalThe 1995 Coca-Cola Cup Final was played between Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers at Wembley Stadium on 2 April 1995. Liverpool won the match 2–1. Two Steve McManaman goals in the 37th and 68th minutes put Liverpool ahead, but Alan Thompson scored a brilliant goal for Bolton to give them some...
- Winner: 1995
Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
- La LigaLa LigaThe Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
- Champion: 2000–01, 2002–03
- Supercopa de EspanaSupercopa de EspañaThe Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...
- Winner: 20012001 Supercopa de EspañaThe 2001 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 19 August and 22 August 2001. It contested by Real Zaragoza, who were Spanish Cup winners in 2000–01, and Real Madrid, who won the 2000–01 Spanish League. Real Madrid won 4–1 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second...
, 20032003 Supercopa de EspañaThe 2003 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 24 August and 27 August 2003. It contested by RCD Mallorca, who were Spanish Cup winners in 2002–03, and Real Madrid, who won the 2002–03 Spanish League. Real Madrid won 4–2 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second leg:-References:...
- Winner: 2001
- UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
- Winner: 20002000 UEFA Champions League FinalThe 2000 UEFA Champions League Final took place at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France on 24 May 2000. The match pitted Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Valencia...
, 20022002 UEFA Champions League FinalThe 2002 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The show-piece event was contested between Bayer Leverkusen of Germany and Real Madrid of Spain at the Hampden Park in Glasgow, on Wednesday, 15 May 2002, to...
- Winner: 2000
- UEFA Super Cup
- Winner: 20022002 UEFA Super CupThe 2002 UEFA Super Cup was played on August 30, 2002 between Real Madrid of Spain and Feyenoord of the Netherlands. Real Madrid qualified by beating Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final. Feyenoord had made it to the Super Cup after beating Borussia Dortmund in the 2002 UEFA Cup...
- Winner: 2002
- Intercontinental CupIntercontinental Cup (football)The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
- Winner: 20022002 Intercontinental CupThe 2002 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 3 December 2002 between Real Madrid, winners of the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, and Olimpia, winners of the 2002 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the neutral venue of the International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama in front of...
- Runners Up: 20002000 Intercontinental CupThe 2000 Intercontinental Cup, officially the 2000 Toyota European / South American Cup for sponsorship reasons, was a football match played on 27 November 2000 between Real Madrid, winners of the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League, and Boca Juniors, winners of the 2000 Copa Libertadores. The match...
- Winner: 2002
- Copa del ReyCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
- Runner-up: 20022002 Copa del Rey FinalThe 2002 Copa del Rey final was the 98th final since its establishment. The match took place on 6 March 2002 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid. The match was contested by Real Madrid and Deportivo de La Coruña, and it was refereed by Manuel Mejuto González...
- Runner-up: 2002
Individual
- Named in the PFA Team of the YearPFA Team of the YearThe Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the top four tiers of English football; the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two, whom are seen to be deserving of being named in a "Team of the Year".The award...
in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 - Euro 1996 Team of the Tournament
- Premier League Player of the MonthPremier League Player of the MonthThe Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Premier League player each month of the season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor, and announced alongside the Manager of the Month on the first or second Friday of the following month...
(1): December 1997 - UEFA Champions League Final - Man of the MatchUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 20002000 UEFA Champions League FinalThe 2000 UEFA Champions League Final took place at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France on 24 May 2000. The match pitted Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Valencia... - Alan Hardaker TrophyAlan Hardaker TrophyThe Alan Hardaker Trophy has been awarded to the Man of the Match at every Football League Cup final since 1990. The winners to date include:...
- 1995