At 16, he has already secured major sponsorship and is making plans for life after football.
Birmingham City youngster Lorenzo Grier has more followers on YouTube than Kylian Mbappe, but could not win against Manchester United and Kai Rooney. The 16-year-old boy, who goes by the name Tekkerz Kid on YouTube, has 1.7 million followers and more than 480 million views.
Greer has been running his YouTube channel for 10 years, after it was started by his parents, Nathan and Tara, who found it expensive to buy their son football cleats. They hoped he would do a few reviews along the way and win a freebie or two, but over the next decade he has progressed from grassroots football to Birmingham City’s academy, with dreams of turning professional.
He himself has already met the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jude Bellingham and Mbappe and is hoping to forge a career for himself in the game.
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Greer started for Birmingham’s Under-18s in their away game against Manchester United, but it was the hosts who ran out 6-0 winners in the Under-18 Premier League Cup to finish Group G with the most points.
United wonder JJ Gabriel was also one to watch, while Wayne Rooney’s son Kai also scored Darren Fletcher’s side’s sixth goal of the afternoon.
It was an afternoon to remember for Grier, who earned a scholarship earlier this summer and was making his first start of the season in defensive midfield, playing two years above his age group.
Still, this young man, who has made incredible progress, will not let that deter him. Grier is an Under Armor athlete who met PSG defender Achraf Hakimi during a trip to Paris.
Grier is seen as the next young talent to come out of Birmingham City’s academy belt, with two of their biggest stars, Jude Bellingham and Jobe Bellingham, plying their trade at top clubs in Europe.
He may never have made a first-team appearance for Birmingham City, but he has already established himself as a celebrity at the club thanks to his social media following, and he hopes to follow in Jude’s footsteps.
In an interview with SunSport, Greer said: “It’s crazy, it’s unreal. I never expected it to be this big.”
“My parents were in a potato chip store and they had this bright idea: ‘Lorenzo loves soccer. Why don’t we put out a video showing how good he is?’
“We started out with about 50 views. Then more and more people started watching and we just kept doing it.”
Greer has already met some of the biggest names in soccer through social media platforms, but he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Jude Bellingham.
“Jude is an inspiration as a Birmingham native and living proof that success can be achieved,” he said. “I’ve met him a few times – at St George’s Park, around the city and at the training ground when he was here.
“Jude is down to earth, humble and talks like a normal person. It was upsetting to see him play for Birmingham as a 16-year-old, starting games and scoring goals. It was sickening.”
“Players like Bellingham, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen who achieved such a high level as teenagers are almost one in a billion players. You can’t compare yourself to people like that because players of that age rarely come around.”
“Jude told me, ‘Keep playing your game and stay humble.’ So I’ve got to do that, keep working hard and let my soccer speak for itself. My ultimate goal is to be a professional soccer player.”
The young man set up his own academy at the age of 16 and hopes to earn a coaching badge in the future.
