Ex-Arsenal & Spurs star Sol Campbell wants KNIGHTHOOD

Updated: 07 Sept, 2024 • 0 • min read

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Ex-Arsenal & Spurs star Sol Campbell wants KNIGHTHOOD

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Former England and Arsenal defender Sol Campbell has expressed his belief that he deserves a knighthood for his successful football career.

Campbell was one of the best defenders in the world during the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning two Premier League titles with Arsenal, three FA Cup trophies, whilst getting 73 caps for England.

The 49-year-old was a key member of Arsenal's "Invincibles" and still holds the record for the longest run of Premier League games without a defeat.

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Campbell believes his achievements for club and country should be reflected in an OBE, MBE or knighthood, but he has so far been looked over in every honours list since his retirement.

And the former Tottenham Hotspur centre-back made his frustration clear in an interview with GB News.

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.

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.

I don't know why I'm overlooked on these kind of occasions.

I'm not the only sporting great that has been overlooked but for me I'm seeing all these other people get these gongs and these accolades and it's special - for me it would be an honour to have a Sir, OBE or MBE for the sport I've committed to over two decades.

Only a select number of people have been given a knighthood for services to football, including Trevor Brooking, Matt Busby, Bobby Charlton, Alex Ferguson, Tom Finney, Geoff Hurst, Stanley Matthews, Alf Ramsey, Bobby Robson, and Walter Winterbottom.

The most recent footballer to receive a knighthood was Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish in 2018.