Craig Bellamy: GoodFella

CRAIG BELLAMY is one of those footballers you can’t ignore. If he plays for your team, you love him. If he doesn’t . . . Everyone thinks they know Bellamy. Pace and passion. A handful for defenders. Scoring goals and winding up opponents. Winning friends – and making enemies. Blessed with a natural talent, he has enjoyed a colourful career at a host of top clubs. The proud Welshman is one of the top ten appearance makers for his country. But his rise to the top of the game wasn’t easy. It could have all been so different. He came from a loving family but temptations lay in his way. Follow the crowd or follow a dream? Join your mates in a gang on the streets or try to make it as a pro? It was a choice between the two. Bellamy chose football and became a rebel with a cause. He quickly climbed the ladder and shared dressing rooms with some of the biggest stars in football – from Ryan Giggs to Steven Gerrard. His burning desire to succeed made him a winner on the pitch, but that same passion also got him into trouble. There were famous bust-ups with John Arne Riise and Alan Shearer, not to mention rows with Graeme Souness, Rafa Benitez and Roberto Mancini. Away from the spotlight, there is a different side to Bellamy. His earnings from this book will be going to the Craig Bellamy Foundation, a charity which offers children in Sierra Leone the chance to fulfill their sporting potential. He is a devoted Dad and was heartbroken at the tragic and shocking death of his close friend Gary Speed. Craig Bellamy: GoodFella uncovers the real man behind the player and reveals the untold stories of a life inside football’s fast lane. Like Bellamy himself, it doesn’t hold back.