welcome
Telegraph

Telegraph

Sports

Sports

Sinister side of football’s autograph hunting craze

Telegraph
Summary
Nutrition label

66% Informative

Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City team spent Saturday night at a hotel 15 minutes walk from Portman Road and where City go, the autograph hunters follow.

Some had arrived as early as 10am , most bringing shirts, City merchandise or photos.

Many looking to profit from autographs arrive with folders full of shirt numbers which are quicker to sign at speed than the shirts themselves.

Stars spend an hour per session to sign in bulk, with Icons paying for their time upfront rather than giving them a cut of sales.

Signed Messi merchandise commands the highest prices, only rivalled by Michael Jordan .

Mohammed Salah and Jude Bellingham have so far resisted making autograph deals, although both occasionally sign for fans.

The best-known are greeted by shouts of their surname as they walk straight onto the team bus.

Guardiola is nowhere to be seen, apparently sneaking out of a side exit while the attention of the crowd was trained on the main entrance.

City’s blinkered focus on their match seemed to pay off, they thumped Ipswich 6 -0.

VR Score

55

Informative language

45

Neutral language

53

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

38

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

Source diversity

1

Affiliate links

no affiliate links