WAGs of prime footballers say life is not all it is cracked as much as be

From luxurious holidays and VIP experiences galore to nearly limitless spending energy – the lifetime of a WAG would possibly seem to be the stuff of desires. Yet it is not all it is cracked as much as be… 

That’s at the very least based on the companions of three prime footballers, who’ve described among the difficulties that comes with the position – from the stress of matches and the ’emotional rollercoaster’ of shifting overseas to having to let their very own careers take a again seat. 

Taylor Ward, the husband of Riyad Mahrez, is among the stars of Married To The Game, a present that focuses on the lives of footballer’s wives and can stream on Prime Video from February.

She seems on the collection alongside fellow WAGs Cat Harding, fiancee of Arsenal star Jorginho and Sara Gundogan, spouse of Manchester City’s midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. 

In advance of the documentary, all three spoke to MailOn-line to supply an unique perception into their lives – from the highs to the lows. Here is what they revealed – 

TAYLOR WARD: ‘People misunderstood my husband Riyad Mahrez’ blunt ”it is a part of the sport, innit” remark after he revealed we have been shifting to Saudi‘

Taylor Ward defended her husband Riyad Mahrez after he confronted backlash for telling his sobbing spouse ‘it is a part of the sport, innit’ whereas revealing a transfer to Saudi Arabia.  

Ward, 25, stated individuals have ‘misunderstood’ the French-Algerian footballer’s tone as he instructed her concerning the transfer from Cheshire to Jeddah in an emotional clip that went viral. 

Setting the document straight, she admitted his response to her being upset was blunt – however stated that was all the way down to French individuals being extra ‘to the purpose’. 

The footballer, who captains the Algerian nationwide crew, had been taking part in for Man City however telephoned her to say he had signed a 4 yr contract with Al-Ahli within the Saudi Arabian professional league. 

Weeping as she recollects the second in Married To The Game, she tells the Mail: ‘Riyad rang me and mainly instructed me we’re shifting to Saudi. I’m going to be sat at dwelling by myself.’

Ward has now stated: ‘I used to be shocked that individuals picked up on that a lot. ‘It’s humorous as a result of clearly from watching the trailer he has such a blunt response to me being upset however I feel that is our relationship. 

‘He may be very blunt – a bit powerful love. Riyad is French and French individuals generally are very to the purpose. Also he’s a person. I feel he is solely cried in entrance of me twice in our relationship and it was not the Saudi transfer – in order that’s simply who he’s.’

She added: ‘Riyad may be very calm, he does not panic beneath strain and he is very to the purpose and straight speaking whereas I’m a little bit of a flapper in these conditions.

‘I really assume as harsh because it sounds I feel that is why we work as a result of he type of brings me again all the way down to earth. He’s very very like: ‘It is what it’s it’s worthwhile to get on with it.’

‘If I had somebody there consoling me patting my again saying ‘oh I do know life’s so unhappy you’re shifting to Saudi’ I’d most likely really feel worse.

‘We are simply married and he’s so supportive. Obviously as a lot as he’s easy and to the purpose he’s essentially the most loving particular person ever. 

‘If I used to be actually upset concerning the Saudi transfer or if I used to be actually genuinely depressed and upset about it he would not put us ready the place I’d really feel like that.

‘I feel he simply knew it was type of me panicking within the second and having a wobbly and that I’d be superb the subsequent day. He is aware of how you can take care of me that is for certain.’

Taylor and daughter Mila have this week flown out to Jeddah to make their transfer everlasting after spending months house-hunting and shifting backwards and forwards between Saudi and the UK. 

She stated: ‘Originally once I stated: ‘If we transfer we’ll all be shifting collectively’ I wasn’t pondering that it might be so far as Saudi Arabia. I used to be pondering perhaps down south to London or one thing like that.

‘Riyad needed to go over right away so we moved right into a lodge. It took us just a few months to discover a home which we now have discovered now.’

She stated their home is ‘attractive’ and that the principle downside they’d when home searching was that among the homes in Saudi Arabia have been like ‘palaces’.  

‘Honestly we have been strolling round them and I used to be like: ”I do not know what we’re going to put in these rooms, we’re working out of concepts. We cannot reside right here! This is getting ridiculous. How many rooms there are?”

‘They have been genuinely too large. I feel we now have discovered one thing now which is very nice. It’s nonetheless actually spacious however we aren’t going to be getting misplaced on totally different flooring looking for one another.’

Ward stated the transfer got here as a ‘enormous shock’ that she did not see coming. She stated she has an in depth group of family and friends in Manchester – although her mother and father and two sisters reside in Dubai. 

‘Recently each time I’ve been in Saudi my mum will flip up because it’s solely two hours away,’ she instructed. 

‘My mum is inside designing our home in Saudi so she has been backwards and forwards non cease and she or he loves it.

‘She and Riyad get on like a home on fireplace from the day they met and I feel he really speaks to my mum and pa (former footballer Ashley Ward) than he does to me.

‘Me and Riyad met not lengthy earlier than lockdown and round every week after he first met my mother and father we went into lockdown and he ended up shifting in with me and my household, so from day one they’ve been inseparable.’

‘We all the time stated that if a transfer comes up and it is best for Riyad and finest for our household we’ll take it and go collectively. A soccer profession is such a brief time frame that you just simply should profit from it while it lasts.’ 

As for all times when he retires – she says that they’re pondering of a transfer to Dubai.

Arsenal WAG Cat Harding avoids her fiancé Jorginho for twenty-four hours after a defeat and says her life revolves round his schedule.

The mother-of-two, 33, instructed MailOn-line she is not an enormous fan of soccer and does not know the offside rule – solely agreeing to look at the game when her 32-year-old husband to be is taking part in. 

In an unique interview, the singer gave an perception into being the partner of a sportsman, saying there’s ‘no method’ she will discuss to Jorginho when he loses a recreation and so they even should postpone dinner plans due to his low temper. 

The Italian midfielder, who earns a reported £110,000 every week, proposed to Cat in December with a love coronary heart rose show and violinist that was captured on digicam for the upcoming TV present.  

And now the previous Voice UK contestant is planning their elaborate marriage ceremony set to be held in Italy, excitedly revealing she has already chosen her dream gown. 

Cat stated: ‘I do really feel like I’m married to the sport.

‘It modifications numerous issues… your entire life revolves across the schedule of your associate however to a different stage as a result of it is not a traditional schedule the place you’ll be able to plan. Everything needs to be deliberate round what is going on on with them.

‘You cannot plan something upfront except it’s in June. I’m planning my marriage ceremony for subsequent summer season as a result of J may presumably be within the Euros this yr once more so it is going to be subsequent yr. 

‘Even sure issues like we now have typically had dinner deliberate with pals and in the event that they lose a recreation, we now have to cancel and I really feel the worst however there is not any method you’ll be able to exit with somebody… after J has completed a recreation and so they misplaced, there isn’t a method I can discuss to him for twenty-four hours. He is just not within the temper.’

Cat, who’s a mum to daughter Ada, eight, from her relationship with Hollywood actor Jude Law, 51, and shares son Jax, three, with Jorginho, says she did not win over her fiancé by pretending to love soccer.

In reality, Cat has solely lately discovered there are 11 gamers in a crew and admits the principles of the sport are nonetheless a thriller to her.

She stated: ‘I’m not loopy into soccer and I’ve by no means pretended that I’m. I do not know something about it.

‘I really like going to the video games as a result of it’s a fully totally different ambiance and it’s totally different if you find yourself on the recreation, you’ll be able to really feel the power within the stadium, in comparison with if you find yourself watching it at dwelling.

‘I do not watch soccer aside from when he’s taking part in. I do not know any of the principles, I do not know the offside rule, I do not know something… he tries to elucidate it to me. I actually simply discovered there are 11 gamers.’

Shortly after their engagement, the couple, who initially met on a relationship app, moved into a brand new dwelling in London’s West Hampstead to be nearer to Ada’s college and Jorginho’s coaching floor. 

Despite a busy begin to the yr, Cat has already discovered her marriage ceremony gown and is planning to scope out venues in Italy forward of their large day in the summertime of 2025. 

She stated: ‘We bought engaged on December 6 so proper earlier than Christmas.

‘We had household over from Brazil afterwards, we had the children right here, we have been so busy after which it was Christmas, then we went away and since we bought again, we moved home.

‘But I did say to J final evening I feel I’m going to go to Italy subsequent month and begin taking a look at venues.

‘I feel I’ve discovered my marriage ceremony gown however it’s the second gown I’ve tried on so I most likely have to go to another outlets.’

Jorginho’s dedication to the sport, which has seen him win UEFA males’s participant of the yr, means he’s typically other than his household.

The father-of-three, who additionally has a son and a daughter from his first marriage to Natalia Leteri, defined the most important sacrifices are the particular moments he misses along with his youngsters.

Speaking on the present, he stated: ‘Everyone thinks soccer is glad and you don’t have any issues, however we sacrifice so much.

‘The largest one is being away on a regular basis and never being shut and lacking many necessary moments… the children rising up… it is not as simple as individuals assume and that is the fact.’

Married to the Game viewers could have the possibility to look at the Euro 2022 winner’s romantic proposal, which Cat says has earned Jorginho bragging rights amongst his teammates. 

But making a TV second of the intimate event wasn’t Jorginho’s intention as Cat reveals he is shy off the pitch and as a performer she’s extra outgoing of their relationship.

She stated: ‘J did not need to suggest on digicam, that is one factor he needed to carry again on.

‘He’s really so much shyer than me particularly when he does not know somebody. He actually takes time to analyse a scenario and know what is going on on, he isn’t very ahead at first.

‘But it felt completely wonderful. I used to be anticipating it however how he managed to trick me within the second, it was a complete different factor. He put in a lot work and he went above and past to make it particular. He is sort of one thing.

‘He is now giving tricks to different gamers and pals about how you can do proposals.’

Cat hopes watchers will see there’s extra to the wives and girlfriends of Premier League gamers than luxurious holidays, beautifying and designer baggage, as she labels ‘WAG’ a ‘silly time period.’

She stated: ‘It continues to be used a lot. It does not have an effect on me that a lot, I chortle at it.

‘I do not prefer it or assume it is proper. We have our personal lives and do our personal issues, different wives and companions of the gamers are actually profitable ladies in their very own proper so I do not assume it must be a time period that’s used to label them.

‘But for me personally, I simply let it go… it does not have an effect on my life or how I really feel about myself it is only a silly time period.’

SARA GUNDOGAN: ‘I now MISS Manchester regardless of slamming the ”horrible meals” – and battle with having my achievements decreased to ”zero”’

Sara Gundogan has revealed she misses dwelling in Manchester regardless of her earlier criticism of the town’s ‘horrible’ meals.

Gundogan, beforehand Sara Arfaoui, began relationship former Man City star Ilkay Gundogan in 2021 earlier than they tied the knot a yr later. They have one son collectively, Kais, who was born in March 2023.

Sara was a highly-successful TV presenter and mannequin earlier than assembly Ilkay, with the couple relocating to Barcelona this summer season after the midfielder joined the Catalan giants upon the expiry of his contract on the Etihad.

He loved a vastly adorned seven-year spell with City, profitable 14 trophies, which included captaining Pep Guardiola‘s facet to a historic Treble final season.

However, issues have been generally tough off the pitch, with Sara infamously criticising Manchester on events, which included one rant concerning the high quality of the meals in October 2022.

She posted on her Instagram story: ‘Sorry, I’m unhappy to be trustworthy however nothing. I attempted [sic] so unhealthy to discover a good restaurant however horrible meals in all places.

‘Can’t discover a actual Italian or good sushi or simply contemporary meals… every thing frozen. Restaurants listed here are focus [sic] on earning profits with drinks and shot [sic] like nightclubs, not high quality meals. Maybe in London however in Manchester nothing. I’m sorry.’

However, talking solely to Mail Sport, Sara revealed that she grew to like Manchester and truly discovered it exhausting to go away in the summertime. 

‘When I used to be in Manchester, my entire life was (initially) round soccer,’ she stated. ‘My pals have been soccer, the individuals I met by my husband, after which I did not have something that was simply my world outdoors of that. 

‘And I’m a social particular person. So it took me a little bit of time, however I made it pals and it was very nice.

‘After making pals, I used to be actually glad. I had my very own life and routine in Manchester and I’ve considered one of my finest pals there.’ 

There have been a number of rumours about Ilkay’s future in the summertime, with the midfielder linked with golf equipment throughout the globe, whereas there was additionally an opportunity he would keep at City.

And Sara went onto clarify the problem of leaving Manchester behind after discovering out her husband can be shifting overseas.

She added: ‘Over the years I’d see pals shifting so it is one thing that is all the time round in soccer and you’ll all of a sudden simply have a cellphone name from them telling you they’ll one other nation.

‘So, it is all the time round, it is all the time taking place however I did not think about that it might be us and when it is you it is large a shock.

‘It’s all the time unhappy, particularly since you make pals, you are glad someplace, you construct your life after which you need to depart all of the individuals you like.’

Sara additionally mirrored on her preliminary struggles in Manchester and defined how sticking with issues finally paid off.

She added : ‘I feel it is actually exhausting to reside in England if you find yourself alone in the home and you may’t meet anybody.

‘But once you begin to know a bit extra about it, how you can go round and have pals, I feel the place modifications fully and you may get pleasure from it. 

‘I began to get pleasure from every thing and I type of miss Manchester now.’

Sara went on to checklist among the challenges of being a WAG, together with letting her personal profession take a again seat.  

‘As a spouse generally you’re on the facet,’ she solely instructed Mail Sport. ‘But it was exhausting as a result of regardless of my work as a TV presenter, the actual fact I converse six languages and travelled the world as a mannequin, once I was him, every thing I did, all of a sudden it turned zero and I simply turned his spouse.

‘The individuals knew me earlier than as a media star however once I turned a spouse, there’s the tendency of the press to indicate wives of gamers in a sure method and it is like we now have to suit this cliche.

‘I misplaced a bit my spontaneity, my method of talking with out pondering. So yeah, it’s kind of exhausting, as a result of you need to additionally rebuild your self and discover your individual id.

‘It’s type of unhappy as a result of there isn’t a different sport, there’s nothing comparable, say in cinema or politics, that can describe a spouse of an necessary politician that method.’

Sara additionally admitted she was ‘shocked’ at her husband’s transfer to Barcelona and did not initially imagine the rumours.  

‘I did not actually imagine these (rumours about becoming a member of Barcelona),’ she stated. ‘Every summer season and January, in each switch market individuals would all the time come to me with rumours. 

‘Some individuals even used to textual content me to say ‘you are coming to Italy?’ and I used to be by no means taking something significantly. 

‘I had pals texting me saying I used to be coming again, and I used to be like, ‘no’. It simply occurred. And the humorous reality is that I did not take it significantly. 

‘I used to be like, no it can’t be as a result of my husband is a few years right here in Manchester and I do not see this taking place.

She continued: ‘I used to be in Italy, it was vacation time. It was my first vacation with my child and I went to satisfy all my pals. So I used to be a bit in my bubble, for example child bubble.

‘And I simply bought a cellphone name and it was like ‘we’re going there’. I wasn’t taking it significantly. I do not know if it was a shock. So it took me a little bit of time to grasp what was taking place.’

• Prime Video’s UK Original Documentary Series, Married to The Game, launching on Friday twenty third January