Former Leeds United player Kalvin Phillips has just been signed by Manchester City after making a name for himself on the England squad and helping his home team reach the Premier League in 2020 after a 16-year absence.
But off the pitch, he has gathered a fan base for his candid openness about his difficult childhood, and his close friendship with Manchester rapper Aitch.
The 26-year-old midfielder has just been signed by Pep Guardiola to Manchester City for over £42 million, despite recent injury.
There were rumours that Manchester United were keen to sign the player but Pep's side have clinched him.
Kalvin Phillips' football career
Kalvin Phillips' career began in 2015 and he continued to thrive under Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa, when he was chosen to represent England after helping Leeds get promoted to the Premier League.
This move made him the third player this century to represent England before appearing in the Premier League.
Kalvin’s first start for Gareth Southgate ’s lions was in a Nations League fixture against Denmark in September 2020.
He made over 200 appearances for Leeds, and is now confirmed to be moving to Manchester city for £42 million.
In a statement Kalvin said: “I am absolutely delighted to have joined Manchester City.
“City have again proved to the best team in the country with an amazing squad and a manager in Pep Guardiola who is rightly considered to be the finest in the world.
“To be able to play under Pep and learn from him and his coaching staff as well as be part of a such a fantastic squad is a prospect that I am incredibly excited about.”
Does Kalvin Phillips have a girlfriend?
He is in a relationship with Ashleigh Behan, 26, and has been reportedly dating his childhood sweetheart since 2013 after meeting her in 2011.
The pair were recently seen at their friend and fellow Leeds United player Liam Cooper’s wedding in Ibiza in late June.
In an exclusive interview with The Mirror Ashleigh revealed that she screamed and burst into tears when she heard that Kalvin had made the Euros squad in 2020.
He Facetimed her whilst she was in the supermarket, and she said she thought “the checkout guy thought I was mental” because she was crying so much.
Friendship with Aitch
He is also very close friend with Manchester rapper Aitch, and the pair appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox for Stand Up To Cancer in October 2021.
Fans were left angry after the Leeds star was not given much screen time alongside Aitch.
He also was recently pictured with rapper Stormzy who was performing in Leeds that night.
Kalvin's difficult childhood
Kalvin has been very open about the struggles he had growing up, revealing that he had free school meals and that his mother sometimes didn’t eat at night in order to ensure there was enough food for him and his siblings.
He has a younger brother and two sisters, who were all raised by their mother Lindsey who he has spoken very highly of many times.
Lindsey had to sleep in the sofa downstairs to allow her children to have beds in their three-bed house, and that his grandma used to chip in to help the family pay for food.
Kalvin also detailed that his father, Mark, has been “in and out my life since when I was young” and had been in the “wrong crowd”, and had spent time in prison.
