WonderBolt Bailey
BUNDESLIGA YOUNGSTER ON FAST TRACK TO PREM HIGH LIFE, AS STEPDAD SAYS: I FOUGHT TO GET HIM AWAY FROM THE CARIBBEAN... HE COULD HAVE ENDED UP AS A DRUG DEALER
LEON BAILEY is one of the Bundesliga’s top young talents and has been dubbed the new Arjen Robben in Germany.
But for the Premier Leaguebound Jamaican-born star, life could have taken a different turn.
The 22-year-old is being chased hard by Chelsea, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich also keeping the Bayer Leverkusen winger firmly on their radar.
With Chelsea boss Frank Lampard keen on a deal, Leverkusen have reportedly slapped an £85million price tag on Bailey, who has explosive pace akin to pal Usain Bolt – with Ajax youth coach Ronald de Boer rating his speed as “not normal”.
There’s been nothing normal about Bailey’s astonishing journey to fame either.
And his adoptive father Craig Butler admits: “If Leon had stayed in Jamaica, he could’ve been a drug dealer or gangster.
“But he stayed focused and is an example to other Jamaicans. Leon is a new breed of footballer.
“Some players have skill, some have speed, some intelligence and others brawn and strength. Leon has them ALL.”
Bailey’s story is a tale of triumph over adversity – with a few extra twists and turns. At the centre is Butler who runs the Phoenix All-Stars Football Academy and rescued Bailey from a chaotic childhood in the crimeriddled streets of Cassava Piece in Kingston, adopting him and guiding him to stardom.
From an early age Bailey had stardust in his left boot – and even aged nine mesmerised those twice his age in street games.
Bailey said: “I played street football with big guys because I could handle the situation.
“Cassava Piece has a lot of poverty, and it’s curved me into a person I never thought I’d become.”
Stepdad Butler is no soft touch either, and although he’s clashed with Jamaican football authorities over his son’s future, he gets results.
“I’ll admit, my methodologies are not normal” laughs largerthan-life Butler. “At Phoenix they learn to kick barefoot, not with shoes – even if they have them.
“So when they have boots they learn to use the laces properly when they shoot.
“In the top 10, best free-kicks in the Bundesliga last season two were from my son.”
Butler knew getting out of Kingston was vital if Bailey was ever going to fulfil his potential.
So began an astonishing five-year road trip across Europe, disputes over citizenship, government intervention and even Butler’s kidnap in Mexico trying to sort out paperwork for his boys to join Genk in Belgium.
He admitted: “They were crazy years, but worth it.”