FOOTBALL ICON: THE NEXT CHAPTER

Carl Magnay almost skipped Football Icon trials before going on to win the reality television show now, after a career spent in the lower leagues, the former Chelsea defender aims to pass on his star-studded experience

Carl Magnay nearly walked away from trials to be the new Football Icon. The then 17-year-old arrived at the North East auditions, held in his native Newcastle in 2006, took one look at the “massive” queue and decided to head home.

The first edition of Sky One’s popular talent show – which put budding professional footballers through a string of challenges before crowning a champion – had seen Chelsea supporter Jaimie Ashley handed a six-month contract with the west Londoners. The Roman Abramovich era was in full swing and Jose Mourinho’s side had bagged a second consecutive Premier League title that year, so there was arguably no more exciting team to play for. Series two lured thousands of hopefuls, much to Magnay’s chagrin.

“As I went to leave, I was shouted over by a mate at the front of the line,” Magnay recalls to FFT now. “He told me to cut in with him, so I thought, ‘F**k it, why not?’ I was working at an envelope factory and had trialled at Middlesbrough after being released by Leeds. I didn’t have much to lose.”

Inside the venue – “a huge sports centre filled with astroturf five-a-side pitches” – Magnay impressed in a range of tasks aimed at assessing physical, mental and technical ability. “One tested your first touch by firing a ball at you, which you had to control and pass into different goals,” explains Magnay. “Another was an assault course to judge your agility, and we played loads of small-sided matches against the other lads. It was a strange atmosphere, as there were dozens of cameras set up and you were competing for a place in the next round.”