Lee Sharpe (Represented By Our Agency)
Lee Sharpe began his footballing career at Torquay United under the guidance of Cyril Knowles the former Tottenham defender. In his first season and after only 16 games, Manchester United and their manager Alex Ferguson noted his potential and swooped to sign him for £200,000, a record fee at the time for an YTS player.
He made his debut for Manchester United in 1988 and finished his first season having made 22 appearances. During his 8 years at the club he went on to win 3 Premier League Titles, 2 FA Cup, the League Cup and European Cup Winners Cup and at the end of the 1990/91 season was named PFA Young Player of the Year. He also went on to be capped 8 times by England and only his history of injuries probably prevented him gaining more caps.
Despite his injury history, Leeds United signed him for £4.5 million in the summer of 1996, making him their record signing. However he was restricted to 26 Premiership appearances in 1996–97, and then a pre-season knee injury ruled him out for the entire 1997–98 season after which he was unable to regain his place in the team.
In the autumn of 1998, he was loaned to Italian Serie A side Sampdoria until early 1999, and then went on loan to Bradford City helping in securing the club`s promotion to the Premiership after 77 years outside the top division. He then joined Bradford on a permanent deal during the summer and helped preserve the club`s Premiership status in the 1999–2000 season.
In 2003 at the early Age of 32, Lee announced his retirement from professional football and started to develop a career in television as a pundit on various football programmes. He also appeared in a number of reality TV shows including as a competitor on the ITV show Celebrity Wrestling under the name “Sharpe Shooter”, Celebrity Love Island, and ITV’s Dancing On Ice. He has also appeared on Saturday Night Takeaway, Hider in the House and Superstars on Channel 5 as a member of the winning team captained by Sir Steven Redgrave.
Lee has now become one of the most sought after speakers on the after dinner circuit with his numerous stories from his time in football and the many characters he has encountered and particularly the household names during his successful time at Old Trafford with the likes of Bryan Robson, Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes, Ryan Giggs, Gary Pallister, Eric Cantona just to name a few, and of course the manager Sir Alex Ferguson.