Theo Walcott Biography

 

 

Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English footballer who plays for Arsenal and the walcotEngland national team. He is a versatile forward who is usually deployed on the right wing. At an early age he was picked for the 2006 English World Cup squad, though he never played in England's unsuccessful campaign. He was left out of the 2010 World Cup squad but has since grown in stature, and is one of England's most promising new strikers.

Walcott began his youth career in Newbury before spending a season at Swindon. Between 2000-2005 he moved to Southampton where be made 21 appearances.

Walcott transferred to Arsenal on 20 January 2006, for a fee of £5 million, rising to £12 million depending on appearances for club and country. The original fee was payable by instalments – £5 million down, £5 million based on club appearances and £2 million based on England appearances – but was revised to a total of £9.1 million by a compromise settlement agreed on 31 March 2008. He signed an initial pre-contract agreement to sign a professional contract on his 17th birthday on 16 March 2006, and was given the number 32 shirt in the process.

Walcott was born to a British Jamaican father and an English mother. His family made a cameo appearance in the 2007 film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, directed by David Yates, the partner of Walcott's aunt. Walcott himself was due to appear as well, but his commitments to Arsenal forced him to drop out.

Walcott and his father are both Liverpool fans. Walcott has never hidden the fact that he's a massive Liverpool supporter and even when Chelsea asked him to be a ball boy, he used the opportunity to meet his Liverpool idols:

"I was playing in a tournament for Swindon when Southampton and Chelsea showed an interest. Chelsea invited me to be a ball-boy for a game against Liverpool and it was fantastic to meet my heroes Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler. I was a Liverpool fan simply because my dad followed them. Unfortunately I wasn't born when the team had their golden era, but I enjoyed watching the likes of Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman when I was growing up. When Liverpool won the Champions League last year, I went mad. I was shouting so loud I think I woke up the entire village where I live!"

Walcott has been involved with the UK charities Build a School and Best Beginnings.

On 6 April 2008, Walcott was a torchbearer for the Olympic Flame for Beijing 2008 as it was paraded around London. He was the second last torchbearer just before Dame Kelly Holmes.

He is in a long-term relationship with Melanie Slade. The couple got together after meeting in 2004 at the WestQuay shopping centre in Southampton.

His cousin Jacob Walcott is a trainee at Reading and a member of the England national under-17 football team appearing in the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship.

His older sister, Hollie, is a bodybuilder who came second in the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation Central Championships in July 2010.[72]