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English footballer (born 1983) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sonny Pike (born 1983) is an English former footballer who became famous at a young age for his talent, which saw him being compared to players regarded as among the greatest of all time, such as Diego Maradona and George Best.[3] Despite his early promise, Pike left the game at the age of 18 without ever having played professionally.[4]
|
Pike in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1983 (age 40–41)[1][2] | ||
| Place of birth | Enfield, England | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| Enfield Colts | |||
| Enfield | |||
| 1996 | Leyton Orient | ||
| Stevenage Borough | |||
Pike was born and raised in Enfield.[2] He joined Enfield Colts at the age of 6, moving to Enfield F.C. at the age of 10.[2]
Pike received much publicity when he went on trial with Dutch club Ajax in 1995;[2][5][6] though the club wanted to sign him, he returned to England to sign for Leyton Orient instead.[2] A proposed move to Chelsea fell through, and he later went on trial with both Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace before signing with Stevenage Borough.[2] He had a trial at Grimsby Town,[5] before quitting football at the age of 18.[2]
There were reports in the media that he had a non-league career at clubs such as Barnet and Waltham Forest under an assumed name,[6] or that he was playing in Dundee, but Pike has denied those reports.[5]
In 2016 Pike was working as a taxi driver in London.[5] In February 2020 he opened a football academy.[7] He is married with two children.[2] He continues to be cited by the football media as the archetype of a heavily promoted child prodigy who ultimately did not achieve success in the sport.[8]
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