Former Premier League star Jonjo Shelvey announced his retirement from football this week after being appointed as the new manager of Dubai second-tier Arabian Falcons.
Jonjo Shelvey retires and becomes manager of UAE third division club Arabian Falcons (Image: Arabian Falcons)
Usually when we say a soccer player is dodging a missile, we’re referring to a pound coin, a plastic cup half full of beer, or a cascade of colorful words while purposefully walking towards the corner flag as the match goes into stoppage time.
In this example, Jonjo Shelvey is referring to the literally terrifying type of missiles that have caused thousands of British and other foreign nationals to flee Dubai following retaliatory strikes launched by Iran during the conflict with the US and Israel.
Asked how he was doing as Mirror Football’s exclusive interview with the former Liverpool and Newcastle United midfielder began and a scramble for the Zoom record button broke out, Shelvey laughed sarcastically and replied: “Good guys, just dodging the missiles.”
As Shahid’s drones and missiles filled the clear blue skies of Dubai, Britons were stranded at the airport waiting for airspace to open up while UAE air defenses tried to fend off attacks heading for their esteemed city.
For Shervey, leaving Dubai was never an option. If there were any doubts about his goodwill for a city beloved by influencers, businesspeople and, increasingly, retired athletes, they were put to rest with his announcement as the new manager of the Arabian Falcons, whose former Manchester United prodigy Lovell Morrison and head of football operations include FA Cup finalist Jason Puncheon.
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Asked why he had accepted this new position in the second division UAE side rather than taking the next flight back to the UK, he said: “To be fair, the situation here is actually not that bad. It’s been pretty blown out of proportion. You still live a normal life. I think it’s been blown out of proportion a little bit because of social media, but in terms of day-to-day stuff, we’re still going to the mall and the beach.”
“The only thing that’s changed is that the kids are obviously out of school, because if something big happens, they won’t be able to open. But I think they’ll be back next week, so it seems like everything is getting back to normal.”
Dubai and Shelvey’s hometown of Romford are more than 4,000 miles apart. He admits the transition was difficult for his wife and daughters, but sometimes a taste of home made things easier. “The other day I went to Bluewaters Island for a roast dinner near the marina,” the former England international laughed.
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“And we were just sitting there thinking, ‘This doesn’t work in England’, you know what I mean? Yeah, there are definitely more perks to being here and they’re starting to find their way.”
At the time of writing, the UAE is listed as one of a number of countries to which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has “advised against non-essential travel” due to ongoing conflict. Not that that discouraged Shelvey. The midfielder still believes that a walk down Dubai’s Corniche during times of instability in the Middle East is no more dangerous than a stroll through east London or parts of Essex.
“You can see fighter jets flying over the house, intercepting supplies,” he added, “but I think you have to give credit to the UAE for how they handled the situation. They did a great job and to be honest, I never felt in danger.”
Shelby enjoying the challenge of management (Image: Arabian Falcons)
“There was a time when you would get two or three evacuation alerts a day, and if you evacuated in your house for 10 minutes, you would get another alert saying everything was OK and you could go back to your normal life.
“I feel safer here than back in London, for example, in terms of hearing about all the crime that’s happening in London and what I’ve been seeing in London lately. So, yeah, I’m glad we stayed here and I’m glad we were residents of the UAE.”
Mr Shelby has always said he doesn’t know much about British politics. He has previously spoken about how his wife’s sister’s mobile phone was stolen while walking through the capital, and how the ever-present algorithm of doom regularly paints London and the UK as a whole in a negative light.
What’s clear is Shelby’s love for Dubai. He is not the only former Premier League midfielder to bring shine to the project City and the Arabian Falcons are putting together. Morrison is the most famous player ever and will be the manager.
Sir Alex Ferguson described the United academy product as the best player he had seen in his younger generation, while Rio Ferdinand delighted football fans with stories of Mr Morrison’s schemes to bring United’s stars together.
For whatever reason, Morrison’s career never took him to the dizzying heights of Premier League football, instead taking him to Italy, Mexico, Sweden, the Netherlands, America and now Dubai.
Asked about the former West Ham star, Shelvey said: “Everyone has heard about Lavelle.” “To be honest, I haven’t met him very much in football during my career. I think I only played against him once. But you see every day on the training pitch how good he is.”
Morrison will play under Shelby (Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire. Editorial)
“Obviously he’s getting a bit older now and it’s like he needs to change his role in the team if you like. But he’s a great character for the players, especially at a club where there are a lot of young African and exciting players. They’re very raw. And I think it’s very important to have a player like Lavelle around them and show good leadership and character.”
Shelvey’s excitement about his new role would be tempered by the realization that his football career was over. The former England international, who has six caps, admitted it was a tough pill to swallow, saying: “But when I came out here, I kind of knew I was never going to play at the top level again. My career was a downward spiral, if you like, in terms of being at the top level.”
“And I’m not getting any younger, so it takes quite a while to recover after a game. I felt my body and my left knee starting to ache constantly. So, yeah, it was difficult… Until today, when my retirement was officially announced, I just had time to sit in bed and reflect on my career. It’s obviously not good to not feel that feeling again in terms of playing.”
“But listen, I’ve had a great career and now I obviously have this opportunity to try to make my mark in the management game. And I’m fortunate to have found a club called the Arabian Falcons and the owners involved in it that have given me that opportunity.”
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