Steve McManaman

Steve McManaman
Steve McManaman
Steve McManaman 2009.jpg
Personal information
Full name Steven McManaman
Date of birth 11 February 1972 (1972-02-11) (age 39)
Place of birth Kirkdale, Liverpool, England
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder(Retired)
Youth career
1988–1990 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1990–1999 Liverpool 274 (47)
1999–2003 Real Madrid 94 (8)
2003–2005 Manchester City 35 (0)
Total 403 (54)
National team
1991–1993 England U21 7 (1)
1994–2001 England 37 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Steven McManaman (born 11 February 1972) is a retired English footballer who played as a midfielder, winger[1] and playmaker.[2] Having spent his playing career at two of European football's most successful clubs of the 20th century,[3] 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.[4]

McManaman was the first British player to win the UEFA Champions League title twice,[5] 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.[6]

He is also notable for a contractual saga in the late 1990s, that resulted in his football transfer[7] becoming one of the most controversial and high profile Bosman ruling related transfers of all time,[8][9] with the deal resulting in McManaman once becoming the highest paid British player in history, for the years 1999 through 2001.[10]

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.[11]

Contents

Club career

Liverpool

Early days

McManaman grew up as an Everton supporter,[12] 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,[13] and decided to follow Liverpool scout Jim Aspinall instead, which saw McManaman sign for Liverpool as an apprentice upon leaving school in 1988.[1][14] McManaman, a natural athlete and Cross Country marathon winner at schools level[15] (having trained with the Liverpool Harriers and having once beat Curtis Robb,[16] 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.[17]

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,[18] 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,[19] and cleaned his football boots as part of the Boot Room policy and British football tradition of apprenticeship at the time.[20]

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.[17] 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.[17]

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 Giggs[5] of Manchester United, with both players known to "embarrass defences with their mazy runs, which too often lack the finishing touch they deserve".[21]

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.[22]

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".[23] 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[24]...I wish there are more dribblers like him."[25]

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,[26] including assists and top ratings in a match, Liverpool F.C. 4–3 Newcastle United F.C.[27]- voted the best of the decade in a poll known as the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards.[28] 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,[29] 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."[30]

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.[31] 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.[32] 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[33] and managers would deploy a man-marker specifically to follow him for an entire game,[34] with Gianfranco Zola adding that McManaman was the player the Italian national players monitored the most.[35] Howard Wilkinson said McManaman was "virtually unstoppable" at times,[36] 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."[37] 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.[38]

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 culture 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.[39] 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.'[40] 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.[32] McManaman responded by becoming the first footballer of his generation to write a weekly column (in The Times),[41] 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.[42] Fowler, meanwhile, regards McManaman till this day, as the best player he has ever played alongside.[43] 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."[16] 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.[44]

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 Umbro. 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.[45] 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",[46] 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.[47]

Club level

Prior to the start of the 1996–97 as well as 1997–98 seasons, Liverpool received various bids for McManaman.[48] 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.[49] 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)[50] 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.[51]

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.[50] 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.[52] 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.[53] 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,[54] 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.[48]

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.[55] 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.[50]

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.[50] 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.[56][57] 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.[58] 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." [59]

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.'[60] 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.[61]' 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.[62]

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,[63][64] but turned it down, and denied its existence,[65] 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.[66] 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".[67] 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.[68] Nonetheless, negotiations never led to a new deal and his contract began to wind down.[69] In early 1998 and 1999,[70] Spanish reports stating that FC Barcelona claimed McManaman was going to sign for them emerged again,[65] but this time McManaman rejected the rumours and expressed anger at what he saw as tactics to unsettle him before key Liverpool matches,[71] saying: "How can I be expected to keep commenting on something that has no truth whatsoever.".[72] 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,[73] also saw McManaman demand that Liverpool match that price bracket,[74] with the player rejecting Roy Evans' record breaking 10 miilion pound offer at the beginning of 1998,[75] 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."[76] 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.[77] 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.[78]

Despite having been named Liverpool captain at the start of the 1998–99 season,[1] 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.[79] In October 1998, McManaman was accused of demanding Liverpool pay him 55,000 pounds a week if he was to sign a new contract,[80] and that the Liverpool board feared a wage explosion at the club and rejected it,[81] but the club officially claimed that these were mere "ludicrous" rumours by the press.[82] 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.[83][84] The Real Madrid connection was made very clear by late 1998 after José Martínez Pirri flew over just to watch McManaman play twice,[85] 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.[86] 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." [87] 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.[88]

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]."[87] In early January 1999, McManaman's new agent (Fuller's protege- Public Relations svengali - Julian Henry),[89] 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.[90] 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",[91] while other papers described it as "English football's worst kept secret."[92]

Sponsorship

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.[93] McManaman argued that his contract was unenforceable and an unlawful restraint of trade[94] 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."[95]

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.[96] But a year on, McManaman continued to dishonour the deal[97] 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.[98] 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",[99] 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."[99]

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[100] having told many players they were surplus to requirements (including Jason McAteer, Phil Babb, 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.".[101]

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 would sign him, stalled on contract talks, and toyed with the fans with his statements,[102] while McManaman claimed he took so long to comment because he was "torn over deciding to leave the magnificent fans."[103] 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.[104]

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.[105]

The final fan view; the most predominant view,[106] 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[107] 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.[108] 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,[109] 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 season, he began turning in mixed performances, with the media accusing him of playing out his final season in a "desultory manner".[110] 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[2]), 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.[111] 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." [112]

McManaman also suffered personal tragedy when his mother Irene, who was bedridden with breast cancer for two years, passed away during this time.[113]

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,[114] 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.[115] 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,[116] and a two row squad farewell at the entrace of the players' tunnel.[117]

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 Barmby as joint runner up to Giggs in the PFA Young Player of the Year awards in 1992,[citation needed] was named in the PFA Team of the Year for four consecutive seasons from 1994–95 to 1997–98,[118] 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.[5] 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,[119] with a total of 142 assists for the club;[120] 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.[121] Until 2011, McManaman held the record for greatest number of assists in Liverpool history, just ahead of Steven Gerrard, who has since overtaken him.[122] On 5 September 2006, Steve McManaman was named #22 in the official Liverpool website's "100 Players Who Shook The Kop" list,[123] in which Jamie Carragher described McManaman as "the best midfield player in the country for three or four years" running.[19] 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,[124] 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,[125], was named by Ruud Gullit as one of his top two players from the entire Premier League era[126], 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.[127][128]

Real Madrid

1999/2000 success

On 1 July 1999, after 364 appearances and 66 goals for Liverpool, McManaman transferred to Real Madrid as Guus Hiddink's last signing[129] before being sacked (and while the club was under President Lorenzo Sanz).[130] 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."[131] 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.[132] 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.[133]

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.[134] 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,[135] as Madrid beat holders Manchester United and Bayern Munich to reach the final.[136] 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,[137][138] a view endorsed by his Madrid team-mate Ivan Helguera.[139] 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 Pérez, 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.[140] When McManaman refused to leave unlike the others, manager Del Bosque told McManaman that he had "little chance of playing this year,"[141] and in case he didn't understand his position, the club also declined to give him a squad number for the forthcoming season.[142] 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.[142] 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.[139]

Real Madrid subsequently accepted first an £11 million bid from Middlesbrough and then a £12 million bid for McManaman from Chelsea[143] 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,[144] but McManaman remained adamant even as Sir Alex Ferguson also declared his admiration for McManaman by arranging a contingent to convince him to sign[145] 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.[146] 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.[147] 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.[148] 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.[149]

Galácticos' policy

McManaman increasingly saw his playing time reduced each year, as the club initiated their now well known Galáctico 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.[150] 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,[151] who backed him publicly on several occasions in press interviews.[152] McManaman was also twice voted as the Real Madrid supporters' favourite player at the club during his tenure,[153][154] who adored him for his workrate,[155] 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,[156] to his home in La Moraleja, or even his androgynous resemblance to Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman,[157][158] 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.[159]

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),[160] 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.

2001/02: Second Champions' League

Eventually, the Board, including Florentino Pérez 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."[161] 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.[162] 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.[163]

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,[164] 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 Trafford in the Champions' League, even as Ronaldo hit a hat-trick.[165] 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."[166]

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,[167] 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,[168] 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.[169]

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."[170]

Manchester City

In 2003-04, along with teammates Claude Makélélé, Fernando Hierro and later Fernando Morientes, McManaman headed back to the Premier League. Initially reported to be joining Arsenal[171] or Everton,[172] 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".[173]

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,[174] with the club starting with a run of wins[175] and progressing in the UEFA Cup,[176] with McManaman hailed by Keegan to great hype, but by Christmas that year, results had fallen, the team languished[177] 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,[178] who later jeered him off the pitch following a draw with Norwich City.[179] Fans also nicknamed him "McMoneyman" pejoratively in reference to old quibs about his reasons for leaving Liverpool, staying in Spain and picking City.[180] 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.[181] 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.[149] 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",[182] although youngsters Wright-Phillips, Joey Barton, Stephen Ireland and Lee Croft did cite McManaman as a major motivating influence on them.[183] 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].[184]

Off the field at City, Fowler and McManaman were caught up in a sex scandal[185] 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.[186] The court case came fast on the heels of football's "roasting" and rape allegations at Chelsea earlier that year[187] 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.[188]

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".[189] 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.[190]

International career

For England, 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;[191] 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.

England U21

McManaman made history by becoming the first player without first team experience to play for the England Under-21 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.[5] 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.

Terry Venables & Euro 96

Terry Venables 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[192] going on to say that he was "one of the best players in Europe" and could be the "best in the world",[191] 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.[193]

Glenn Hoddle & World Cup 98

However, McManaman failed to win over new England coach Glenn Hoddle despite being in excellent club form in the years Hoddle was in charge,[194] 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,[195] 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[196] 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.[197] McManaman made a grand total of four appearances under Hoddle,[198] 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."[107] 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,[199] 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 lineup 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",[200] 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[201] 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,[202] 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'[203][204] 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.[205] 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 Eriksson 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[206]- 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.[207] Despite the pleas of McManaman's Real Madrid team mates Zidane[208] 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."[209] 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.[210]

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,[211] 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,[212] 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"[213] and following that, McManaman was not selected for another England squad.

Critics' and fans' analysis

McManaman was once described as "England's forgotten man"[214] 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,[215] where along with Teddy Sheringham and Gascoigne, McManaman was photographed drinking and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to a Cathay Pacific first class flight cabin.[216] McManaman's reputation was also not aided by the fact that he was also known for being a serial prankster with Fowler,[217] which did nothing to help new coaches' negative opinions about him,[218] 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.[219] 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,[175] 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 City in 2005.[220] 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.[221]

Film/Charity appearances & UEFA Ambassador

In October 2006, McManaman played in a charity match for Liverpool Legends against Celtic Legends.[222]

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,[223] 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.[224]

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.[225]

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.[226] 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.[227] 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.[228]

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.[229] The match drew criticism from some commentators and human rights groups due to Kadyrov's alleged human rights abuses.[230][231] McManaman commented "This is not a piece of propaganda for us...We are not here politically. We are just here to play football."[232]

Corporate work

In July 2007, McManaman was named executive director 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.,[233] 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.[234]

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.[235] 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.[236]

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 Echo.[237]

Media career

McManaman first got a taste for media work in 2005 after he became active as a freelance media 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.[238]

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.[239] 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.[240]

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 2010 World Cup, 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.

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.[241] McManaman's grandfather was a bookie and his father described the family as having "horseracing in their blood."[242]

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.[243]

Honours

All-Time Club Performance
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
England Liverpool 1989–99 274 46 112 59 15 20 31 5 10 0 0 0 364 66 142
Spain Real Madrid 1999–03 94 8 20 15 1 2 43 5 11 5 0 0 157 14 33
England Manchester City 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
Real Madrid
Individual

Further reading

  • McManaman, Steve & Edworthy, Sarah (2003). El Macca: Four Years with Real Madrid. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-743-48920-9. 

References

  1. ^ a b c "Steve McManaman Official Liverpool Profile". Liverpool.com. http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/history/past-players/steve-mcmanaman. Retrieved 2011-08-16. 
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External links

v · d · e1996–97 FA Premier League PFA Team of the Year
GK: David Seaman  · DF: Gary Neville  · DF: Tony Adams  · DF: Mark Wright  · DF: Stig Inge Bjørnebye  · MF: David Beckham  · MF: Roy Keane  · MF: David Batty  · MF: Steve McManaman  · FW: Alan Shearer  · FW: Ian Wright

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