Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer
'a wonderful book ... a great read' Daily Mail
'a fascinating book ... I really enjoyed it' Piers Morgan, Good Morning Britain
'a heart-warming, funny and insightful read. Perfect for a rainy day by the fire.' FourFourTwo magazine
One of the Guardian's 'Biggest Books of Autumn 2020'
'A beautiful book about football, family, friendship and finding out who you really are.' JACK WHITEHALL
'One of the best books I've ever read about what it takes to become a pro.' FRANK LAMPARD
For the Redknapp clan, football is a family concern; it's the family business. Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer is a deeply moving, heartfelt and beautifully personal account of growing up as the second son of Harry Redknapp, and also an enchanting love letter to football.
"I'm Jamie Redknapp. Chances are my surname rings a bell. I want to introduce you to a colourful cast of characters from my formative years.
Growing up, Dad and grandad 'Pop' told us tall stories from London's East End, but there was no artistic licence needed when I was actually kicking a ball about with legends like George Best, Bobby Moore, and Geoff Hurst.
This book is the story of my childhood and adolescence. Like many others, I guess it's a pretty typical mix of caravans and lollies, sweaty T-shirts and paper rounds, cheese sandwiches and Glacier Mints, The A Team, E.T. and Chinese takeaways.
But this is also the story of a journey through an extraordinary childhood obsession with football. One minute it was all about Shoot! magazine, endless keepy-ups and countless impromptu kickabouts. The next, I'm playing for Bournemouth Reserves against terrifying, fully-grown men.
Then I got my move to Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool. I might've been living off gristly sausages and Smash potato in my dingy digs up on Merseyside, but I was living the dream. I was desperately hoping it was the start of something special.
Writing Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer has helped me discover so much about myself. This book is my way of explaining who and what have made me ... well, me."
Born in Hampshire in 1973, Jamie Redknapp made his debut for Bournemouth at the age of 16. He signed for Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool in 1991 and stayed at Anfield until 2002, in the process making more than 300 appearances, scoring in excess of 40 goals, and winning the League Cup in 1995 and both the Charity Shield and UEFA Super Cup in 2001. Redknapp subsequently played for Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, and won 17 caps for England. He retired in 2005 on medical advice.
Jamie is a principal pundit on Sky Sports' football coverage, writes weeekly columns for the Daily Mail, and is a team captain on Sky's two-time BAFTA-winning sports panel show A League of Their Own. He has two sons and lives in Surrey.