The former Three Lions international plays in low-level leagues in the Middle East for money: Britain can no longer stay

Sports Weekly Full Media Report

The Middle East, the United Arab Emirates, and Dubai. When these keywords are associated with a player, it is easy to think of words like gold digging and making money. This is almost the same thing that happened to midfielder Shelvey recently. Not long ago, a video of the 33-year-old former England international began circulating on social media, in which he missed a penalty kick. It’s not outlandish, but the point is the location – the United Arab Emirates. Some netizens commented on this: "He went there for money!" and Shelvey's own response was: "What money? There is no money in the UAE Second Division."

Since there is no money, why would this midfielder who started out at Charlton, played for many Premier League teams such as Liverpool and Newcastle United, and represented England six times, come here? This is indeed a wonderful question.

In fact, there is no need for on-site inspection. Just a little thinking, you can guess that the team Shelvey joined this year is not very rich. After all, this "Arab Falcons" is only a third-level league team - although it is called the second division, it also has the first division and the highest UAE professional league. According to Shelvey himself, the standard salary for players here is about 2,000 pounds per month, which is basically not worth mentioning compared to his own career income. In this regard, he also said: "My brother works in a hotel in London and earns more than this, so I have never come here for money."

It's not the reason for money, but the love for football? What is certain is that the former international footballer has not completely lost interest in the sport he is best at, although due to injuries and age, Shelvey's condition and ability are not as good as before. He left Newcastle in January 2023 to join Nottingham Forest, and in the summer of the same year joined Turkish Super League Rizespor. By the 2024-25 season, Shelvey had joined Turkish Super League Eyupspor and English Championship Burnley, but they were all short-term stays with very little playing time. This summer, as a free agent, he failed to try out for Hull City due to injury. Before joining the Arabian Falcons, Shelvey had been "doing nothing" for two months.

An important reason for traveling to Dubai is that the coach of the Falcons is the Englishman Agombar. He also played in the midfield and was Shelvey's childhood friend. When the young coach found out that his old friend was completely unemployed, he invited Shelvey to come and help "the development of the club." Of course, Shelvey is not entirely out of a helping mentality. He also has a more personal reason: he does not want his children to grow up in a British environment.

In an interview with the BBC, the former England international expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation in the UK, although he still loves Newcastle, where he played for eight years, and declared that the Northeast is "the only place (in the UK) that he wants to live." He said: "We were lucky to live in a wonderful area of ​​the UK, but in my opinion, you can no longer have nice things in my original place (UK). When I was in London, I no longer wore a watch. I even thought you couldn't take out your mobile phone at all in London." This sounds a bit alarmist, but according to data from the Metropolitan Police, 80,000 mobile phones were stolen in London last year, and there were also some burglaries targeting wealthy people (including athletes).

"I don't want to talk about politics, I just saw some things that are happening. If I continue to talk, I will get myself into trouble, but I feel that Britain is no longer what it was 10 to 15 years ago." It sounds like Shelvey is indeed a little scared, so he decided to stay away from his hometown, with a small salary, in front of a mere 75 fans, and missed a penalty kick in the low-level league of the United Arab Emirates...