Homeowners in upmarket Hale, Greater Manchester, have told of how exciting their lives are as they spot stars – despite some who misbehave.
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Locals recall how “mad” it is seeing Roy Keane on a dog walk, Utd captain Bruno Fernandez sipping a coffee and manager Erik ten Hag cycling.
Ballers of rival club Manchester City were also previously seen having a knees-up in The Railway pub to celebrate their Premier League title win.
Hale and neighbouring leafy Bowdon are less than a ten minutes drive away from United’s Carrington training ground.
City players Ederson and Kyle Walker also have homes close-by.
Retired John Gower-Jones, 77, used to live opposite Roy Keane and regularly sees Utd players shopping or having a coffee in the village.
He said: “Roy would say hello all the time when he lived opposite us.
“He’d be taking his dog Trigs for a walk but he’s stop and have a chat.
“He’s a lovely man and one of the more famous round here.
“When our daughter comes to stay we come for a coffee in the village and like to play a game of three.
“You have to spot a flash car, someone famous and someone who to know to talk to.
“We always get them all after a while.
“We’d see Kevin Keegan quite a lot – he’s a lot smaller than you think.
“Ryan Giggs has also spent a lot of time here staying with his new girlfriend.
“And we’d always spot United players coming and going like Johnny Evans going for a coffee or Darren Fletcher.
“However Darren’s dog wasn’t very nice unlike Roy’s dog Triggs who became famous in his own right after the World Cup.
“It’s great, living here and very exciting with the footballers and famous people.”
Pizza chef Jimmy Santos, 40, said: “It’s mad that you see so many Premier League players in one place.
“But it’s a lovely place to live. It’s great with the bars and restaurants.
“They come in for pizza and you see them having a coffee or going to the shops.
“People leave them alone as it’s just normal for us to see them.”
Mum-of-one Hazel Jones, 27, said the area has a nice vibe to it and most of the residential footballers do “behave”.
She said: “You see the players and their Wags hanging out or driving round in their big cars.
“But there’s a nice vibe to the place and most people behave well around the place.”
However, there have been a few black marks for players living in the area.
Former Chelsea misfit Danny Drinkwater was arrested in 2019 for drink driving after leaving a “chav” party in Hale.
The ex-England and Leicester City star, 33, was banned from driving after he ploughed his £150,000 Range Rover into a wall.
And according to The Athletic, locals aren’t fans of the ginormous homes that have gone up in the area to house the footballers.
A local estate agent described them as “absolute monsters”.
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