Copyright GIVEMESPORT
Every now and then in football, certain players take to the pitch with a different name on their back to the one they were born with. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, for example, was best known by his nickname Pele. While there isn't too much Harry Maguire has in common with the great Brazilian striker, they are both known in football by names that were different to the ones their parents gave them. While speaking in a recent interview his his sister, the Manchester United star revealed the truth behind his real name, and explained why he opted to change it. Harry Maguire Changed His Birth Name at 18 Talking to his sibling on TNT Sports, Maguire went into the backstory behind his name change. The English defender explained that his mother actually played the biggest role in it all, saying: “My mum decided to call me Jacob Harry [Maguire] when I was born. Then after three months people started calling me Jakey. “She didn’t like it so she swapped it around to Harry Jacob [Maguire]. But she couldn’t change it by passport until I was 18 . As soon as I was 18 I changed it around, so it’s actually officially Harry Jacob now.” Interestingly enough, Maguire had just turned 18 – by one month and seven days – when he made his professional debut, playing in the Championship for Sheffield United against Cardiff in 2011. This means he's spent his entire senior career known as Harry, which explains why so few would be aware that his birth name was actually Jacob. He's not the first English footballer to dabble with name changes. It's actually far more common than you might think. Current England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was originally named Pigford before his father changed the surname to spare him teasing as a youngster. Adding to that, fellow English shot-stopper Joe Hart was actually born as Charles Joseph John Hart. He later opted to go by 'Joe' to distinguish himself from his father. Dele Ali changed the name on the back of his shirt from ‘Alli’ to ‘Dele’. He explained in August 2016: "I wanted a name on my shirt that represented who I am and I feel I have no connection with the Alli surname. This is not a decision I have taken without a lot of thought and discussion with family close to me." Another example is Andros Townsend, who left fans surprised when he suddenly added Sr on the back of his shirt during his time at Luton Town. The English winger did so because his son is Andros Townsend Jr, and he wanted something to differentiate him just in case his young child follows in his footsteps and becomes a footballer too. Finally, there's another Man Utd man who changed his name at a young age just like Maguire. Indeed, Ryan Giggs was born Ryan Wilson, but changed his surname to his mother's maiden name after her separation from his father. He recalled: "I'd always been Wilson through school. United were in Italy for a youth tournament, and I'd just had my passport done, and the referee came in, and he read out all the passports, and he read my name out and I said, 'Yeah, that's me' and everyone just went, 'What?'"
