‘I’m a sporting great’ - Former Newcastle United defender bizarrely demands knighthood from Keir Starmer
Sol Campbell played just eight times for Newcastle United before calling time on his career
Sol Campbell believes he should be given a knighthood for what he achieved as a footballer.
A former England international, the 49-year-old started his career at Tottenham Hotspur before infamously switching across North London to bitter rivals Arsenal. A spell at Portsmouth also saw success - winning the FA Cup in 2008 - before a bizarre move to Notts County.
He briefly returned to Arsenal - but moved to Newcastle following promotion under Chris Hughton in 2010. Then well past his prime aged 35, Campbell made just eight appearances and called quits at the end of the campaign.
He still lives in the North East due to his marriage to Fiona Barratt, daughter of Northumberland-born Sir Lawrence Barratt, who founded Barratt Homes, a leaking UK housebuilder. Now Campbell is calling on the prime minister to give him a knighthood in the New Year’s honours list.
“I think, for me, when it comes to honours and lists, if it comes to a popularity contest there's a lot of people who are unpopular who have Sirs, OBEs and MBEs,” he said. “If you look at what I've done and what I've gone through playing football and the consistency over the course of two decades, under severe pressure in a football sense.
“I'm up with some of the sporting greats of our country. I'm a proud Englishman and I've done a lot for football, on and off the field, and for racism.
"Also, I'm not even talking about the records I've acquired playing football for my country and domestically, for Tottenham and Arsenal. For me, I'm up with the rest for all of them.”