A Premier League and football legend has admitted he’s lucky to be alive after he was kidnapped on his way to interview for a fake Saudi job
A football legend has admitted he feels very fortunate be alive after he was caught up in a kidnapping while on his way to interview for a fake Saudi managerial job.
Adrian Heath, who is an icon on Merseyside after turning out for Everton in the 1980s, thought football – which had already led him to the USA – was taking him to the Middle East when he was approached about a job in Saudi Arabia.
Heath detailed to The Athletic how there hadn’t been any red flags and he had made several calls to contacts who worked in Saudi Arabia.
And so when he boarded a plan to Morocco, where he had been invited to meet “the sheikh” as he had several hotels and other businesses in November 2024.
He was met by two men after touching down, who handed him flowers and ushered him into a car. It was then that Heath started to panic.
He was taken to a small harbour town and taken into a room with three men. “You obviously realise that this isn’t what you thought it was going to be,” Heath recalled one man he estimated to be in his 30s said. “This is how it’s going to work: You’re going to send us money.
“And if you don’t, you won’t see your wife again. You won’t see your two kids and your grandkids.”
Heath said the money was six figures, and immediately started to try and “string it out”. He told his captors his wife, Jane, would not be able to send the money as it was past the end of the business day in the USA.
He was held at knifepoint as night turned to morning: “I started thinking about all the good stuff about my life. My wife. My children. My grandkids.”
When morning came, the captors called Jane – who was woken up by the call. Heath – who was determined not to give any money as, if he did, they were only going to ask for more – told his wife: “Listen to what I’m saying. I need you to transfer some money.”
Jane, who had a feeling something was wrong, replied: “Adrian, we changed bank accounts less than 12 months ago. You’re the head name on it. I can’t transfer any money without you there.”
The captors hung up, and, one minute later called back demanding less money, but still in six figures. However, Jane stuck to her story.
After the call ended she called her son, Harrison Heath, a former MLS midfielder. Harrison tried to call his dad to find out what was going on, but was only met by more confusion.
It was Harrison’s wife, Kaylyn Kyle, that took control and told Jane to look at her Find My Friends app, and, amazingly, the captors hadn’t turned off his location services.
With the screenshot, Harrison had an “aggressive phone call” with the agent that set up the meeting. He then called the father of one of the kids he coached, who, by chance, was an official at the FBI office in New York.
In Morocco, Heath had started to negotiate: “Listen, I don’t know how this is going to end up, but bottom line, you’re not getting any money.
“You can see that the only chance you’ve got in getting any money is me going home and me wiring it to you. From there, you’re gonna have to trust me, but that’s where we are.”
Heath said the knife came out again as they argued before one of the kidnappers walked into the room: “Get your gear. I’m taking you to the airport.”
It was only as they approached Tangier-Ibn Battouta Airport did Heath believe he’d make it out alive. He still had his passport, bag and wallet and boarded the first flight Europe. Once at the gate, he FaceTimed Jane.
Heath was greeted by Jane and the FBI when he touched back stateside. The FBI provided security for the Heaths for the next 28 days; they didn’t leave their home for the first 48 hours.
Heath admitted: “This sounds crazy, but I’m going to use the word ‘lucky’. How lucky we were. Because the one thing, listening to the FBI, they were just saying, ‘You’re very, very lucky to be back.’”
He alerted the LMA (The League Managers Association, the trade union representing managers in English football), who have since created a new protocol.
Heath hadn’t planned on telling the story, then he got a call from the FBI agent in charge of his case; it had happened to another manager.
Jane said: “You think it’s over, but it’s never going to go away…The thought of another family going through anything like that.”