Arsenal's New Signing Talks of the Reason He Brought Late Granddad’s Ashes to Unveiling

Arsenal's New Signing Talks of the Reason He Brought Late Granddad’s Ashes to Unveiling

  • Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale revealed his grandfather passed away when his mother found out she was pregnant with him
  • Since his death, Ramsdale’s dad has been taking the late’s ashes everywhere with him as he joined Arsenal
  • The England international completed a move to Arsenal in a deal believed to be worth £30 million

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New Arsenal signing Aaron Ramsdale took his late grandfather’s ashes to his unveiling at the North London club.

Ramsdale and family
Aaron Ramsdale's family was present during his unveiling at Arsenal. Photo: @Arsenal.
Source: UGC

Ramsdale, on Friday, August 20, completed a move to Arsenal in a deal believed to be worth £30 million (including add-ons).

Typical of any new signing for a club, Ramsdale posed for pictures in Arsenal colours and there was a distinct object in his midst – his grandfather’s ashes which were contained inside a small pouch he carried.

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The keeper also tagged along with his family to witness him sign a contract with his new club Arsenal.

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The Mirror reports that the former Sheffield United keeper’s dad brings the ashes to any of the games his son features in as an odd, but sweet way to seek some luck.

The keeper spoke on his ‘ritual’ where he explained the origins of his name is actually tied to his granddad.

"The day my mum found out she was pregnant with me was the day he died,” Ramsdale explained.
"He was called Ron and was from Bloxwich in Birmingham and they used to say, 'Oh, we're going to see our Ron.'
"So, I'm Aaron for 'our Ron.' When his ashes were spread my dad kept some of his ashes. He's gone on a little tour of the 92 [teams in the Football League]! My dad takes him everywhere. It keeps him close to his heart."

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Arsenal is the big spenders this summer

Ramsdale joins the likes of Ben White, Martin Odegaard as three of the Gunners’ biggest purchases this summer. The former Bournemouth goalie has signed a long term deal with the club, and is expected to be their number one for the long haul.

There is a chance he could make his debut against Chelsea in the London derby on Sunday, August 22.

Liverpool midfielder Fabinho loses his dad

Elsewhere, Liverpool midfielder Fabinho is in mourning after the loss of his father. Fabinho was absent from Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Burnley and his wife had a day earlier made public his loss in an emotional statement.

Jorginho believes it would be a scandal if he won the Ballon d’Or ahead of Lionel Messi

In other sports stories, Briefly News reported that Italian legend Antonio Cassano claimed that Chelsea midfielder Jorginho believes winning the Ballon d'Or award ahead of Lionel Messi is unrealistic.

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According to Goal, the Chelsea midfielder has been presented as a strong candidate for this year's individual accolade despite his achievements last season.

The 28-year-old helped the Blues land their second Champions League title and the creative midfielder was also instrumental to Italy's Euro 2020 success.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Kelly Lippke avatar

Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.

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Phumzile Ngcatshe (Editor) Phumzile Ngcatshe is a staunch football fan and a lover of political and human interest stories. He launched his journalism career working for various community publications but eventually joined Goal.com where he worked until October 2020. In March 2021 Pumzile also started writing human interest, mainstream and sports news for Briefly News. Phumzile's love for writing saw him earn a national qualification in Journalism and Media Studies and a qualification in video and television production.