Former Liverpool and England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has shared the remarkable story behind his family's £10,000 windfall from his international debut - while insisting the bookmakers got off lightly with their odds.
The £10,000 Bet Revealed
Kirkland, who made his solitary England appearance against Greece in August 2006, discovered only before his debut that his family had placed a collective bet thirteen years earlier that he would play for England before turning thirty.
The wager was struck at odds of 100/1 with William Hill shortly after Kirkland played his first ever game as a goalkeeper aged just thirteen. His family invested £100 - a substantial sum at the time - with the potential return of £10,000.
"I never knew about the bet until the day before my debut," Kirkland revealed exclusively to the Blood Red podcast. "I got asked in a press conference about this bet and I said, 'Listen, I've no idea what you're talking about!' I rang my dad and he said, 'Yeah, we put it on when you were young.'"
Questionable Odds and Rapid Rise
The former goalkeeper believes his family should have received much better odds given his appearance and age when the bet was placed. "If I'd have gone in the bookies with him at 13 and a half, which is how old I was at the time, he'd have got about a million to one!" Kirkland chuckled. "They'd have looked at me and thought, 'there's no way that lad's playing for England!'"
Reflecting on that first goalkeeping performance that inspired the bet, Kirkland modestly admitted: "It was pretty good, yeah! And then I just picked it up pretty quickly. Four years later, I was making my debut in the Premier League for Coventry against Tottenham Hotspur."
His rapid development saw him become the 1,144th player to represent England when he came on at half-time in that friendly against Greece at Old Trafford.
Legacy Cap and Lasting Memories
In October 2025, nearly two decades after his international debut, Kirkland finally received his England legacy cap during a special ceremony at Wembley Stadium before England's World Cup qualifier against Serbia.
The presentation came as the Football Association continues its process of awarding legacy caps to all former Three Lions internationals, with current players like Jarell Quansah - England's 1,297th debutant - receiving theirs immediately after making their bow.
While the financial reward made for a memorable family story, Kirkland maintains the bet was never the primary focus. "It was never a bad thing, it was just a nice story," he reflected, acknowledging similar famous wagers like the one placed by Rory McIlroy's father on his son winning the US Open.
Chris Kirkland's autobiography, 'Keeping It Quiet - The Chris Kirkland Story', is available now through Curtis Sport.
