Sonny Pike
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][4] Despite his early promise, Pike left the match at the age of 18 without ever having played professionally.[5]
|
Pike in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1983 (age 42–43)[1][2] | ||
| Place of birth | Enfield, England | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| Enfield Colts | |||
| Enfield | |||
| 1996 | Leyton Orient | ||
| Stevenage Borough | |||
Early life and football career
Pike was born and raised in Enfield.[2] He joined Enfield Colts at the age of six, moving to Enfield F.C. at the age of ten.[2]
Pike received much publicity when he went on trial with Dutch club Ajax in 1995;[2][6][7] though the club wanted to sign him, he returned to England to sign for Leyton Orient instead.[2] During his time in the media spotlight, he featured in advertisements for Coca-Cola and McDonald's, attended awards ceremonies with leading footballers, and entertained the crowd before the 1996 Football League Cup final.[6][2] He was due to move to Chelsea until he featured on a Channel 4 documentary titled Poaching & Coaching in May 1996, which made allegations of illegal payments and resulted in him being banned from representing any club for a year.[6][2] He later went on trial with both Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace before signing with Stevenage Borough.[6][2] He had a trial at Grimsby Town,[6] before quitting football at the age of 18.[2]
There were reports in the media that Pike had a non-league career at clubs such as Barnet and Waltham Forest under an assumed name,[7] or was playing in Dundee, but he has denied those reports.[6]
