Did the former Manchester United player Luke Chadwick face too much scrutiny about his looks? What is he up to now? Thrillz has the story.
Who is Luke Chadwick?
Luke Harry Chadwick was born on November 18th 1980, and was raised in Cambridge, he is also a former professional English football player who played as a midfielder.
Luke Chadwick started his football career at Old Trafford with Manchester United, where he made 25 Premier League appearances for four seasons.
Bullies tore him down but football built him up
Life for Luke wasn’t always ‘picture perfect’ you would think an 18-year old who just joined Manchester United would be over the moon however Luke was the complete opposite. He may have been glad he joined United but deep down Luke was extremely unhappy, he was in a constant battle with his appearance.
Growing up he was constantly mocked over his features and how he looked, Luke knew he should have worn braces but he had a massive fear of the dentist. Eventually, he had to under corrective jaw surgery to move his whole bottom jaw forward.
Becoming a Red Devil
Luke Chadwick was first signed to Manchester United football club in the year 1999 at the age of 19, joining Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, he made over 16 appearances which enabled him to qualify for the Premier League. Luke scored two goals for the team and helped them win the Premier League in 2000/01.
Luke has done a lot of moving around in his football career to different clubs, whilst he was playing at Old Trafford for United he spent a bit of time out on loan at Royal Antwerp, Reading and Burnley. In 2004 he decided to play for West Ham where he only spent one season until moving on to Stoke City in 2006, signing a permanent deal.
His football career carried on through three more clubs, Norwich City, Milton Keynes Dons (MK Dons) and Cambridge United. After 20 years of playing on the pitch, the talented footballer decided to leave professional football. Luke returned back to Cambridge as a full-time head coach for the club’s academy, he describes the new role as a “different and exciting challenge”.
Is Luke Chadwick married?
The answer is yes. Luke is married to his beautiful wife Hayley and has been for almost 15 years, together the pair have two sons who are following in their fathers’ footsteps. Hayley has supported her husband throughout his whole football career for over 14 years.
Luke is very protective of his sons especially his eldest Louis who is now 18. Louis is currently a goalkeeper and an emerging star at Cambridge United football club, he trains extremely hard and wants to make football his full-time career.
Luke has some concerns and lessons he wants to teach younger football players, life came at him pretty hard when his playing days ended. He said to The Sun: “It was a real struggle, that loss of identity” football took over and played a huge part in his life, Luke didn’t have any ‘normal’ hobbies outside of this and so he found it hard to define himself as a person.
Both of Luke’s sons have joined the training club where he teaches, which is the reason why he still coaches. Luke has mentioned before how time-consuming coaching is, he hardly spends time at home with his family which is a downside of the job.
His sons are the reason he is still coaching, their being involved allows Luke to see them regularly which is why he doesn’t mind coaching as much anymore.
Football is a sport that can consume someone’s life, the reason for this is because they spend almost every day training to get better and stay fit, players face a constant battle within themselves not only for their football ability but also for their appearance.
The media is a platform that loves to pick apart and make fun of people’s insecurities in order for them to generate press articles.
Mental Health awareness
Luke struggled a lot with his mental health when he was playing for Manchester United, as he was constantly scrutinised for his looks. He told TalkSport. “I believe if I looked more like everyone else, I wouldn’t just be remembered”, his features made him unique in his own way.
However, he has openly spoken about how his mental health was affected by the BBC TV programme ‘They Think It’s All Over’. The show mocked Luke’s appearance while pointing out his teeth and the spots he had on his face, as a young player this shredded his self-esteem.
Luke has since been advocating for his mental health and wellbeing, he has also received an apology from Nick Hancock who was the show’s former host.