Inside Arsenal legend Sol Campbell’s failed bid to become London Mayor

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Former Arsenal and Tottenham centre-back, Sol Campbell, is widely considered a Premier League legend; he was part of the England set-up for over a decade, and – at one point in time – he tried to become Mayor of London.

On Saturday evening, Sadiq Khan was re-elected for a second term as Mayor of London, however, that may not have happened had Campbell run for Mayor way back in 2016.

After retiring from football in 2012, Campbell expressed his desire to move into politics.

Whilst many took this as a throwaway comment, it soon emerged Campbell was deadly serious when we threw his hat into the mayoral elections.

“I’m going in with my eyes wide open. I know I’m not going to be a frontrunner,” Campbell told The Sun after he announced his intention to run as a Conservative candidate.

“But I look at people who have been in politics for five, 10, 15 years, and muck up, you see them muck up and think, ‘you guys are supposed to be pro!’

“People that have gone to Oxbridge, [they] had thousands spent on their education, and I mean they are royally mucking up.”

The Englishman was highly critical of Labour's proposed Mansion tax, and he was open to speaking to the Conservatives to secure 'the black vote.'

“I bring something new to the table." He continued: "This is a whole new road for me, something I can get my teeth into but I just felt it was something I had to do.

“I come from a working-class background, it wasn’t easy for me at all, but I worked hard. And now it’s about giving something back.”

He made an appearance at a hustings event to debate the future of London.

However, Campbell ultimately didn't make the four-man shortlist for the Conservatives candidate.

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    • Campbell left politics after he failed in making the shortlist; he soon reemerged as manager of Macclesfield Town, who he led to safety before leaving by mutual agreement.

    However, If he had been elected Campbell would have been the latest in a slew of footballers to enter politics.

    George Weah, the former PSG striker, is currently the prime minister of his native Liberia; Andriy Shevchenko ran for a spot in the Ukrainian parliament, and Romario served on the Brazilian senate.

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    • Premier League
    • Arsenal FC
    • Tottenham Hotspur FC

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