Football can be unforgivingly unpredictable, but there is still room for a few unexpected successes.
When a trial match was organised in a small Egyptian village for scouts to get a good look at a local kid called Sherif who could not be stopped, they went home impressed. However, there was a different name on everyone’s lips that day; Mohamed Salah.
Much like the accidental discovery of Liverpool‘s talismanic forward, Tom Grennan never intended to produce the most successful track of his career when he agreed to be the voice of Gillette’s new advertising campaign in 2023. “And now,” Grennan admitted to 90min with a wistful tone in his voice, “the Gillette song has become my biggest hit.”
The Coventry City fan revealed that his reimagined version of ‘The Best a Man Can Get’ was never going to be released on its own merits. After almost two years of unbridled success, lodging itself in the brains of anyone to come across Gillette’s advert, which is so often played before and at half-time of televised football matches, the song has taken on a new life of its own.
Gillette and Grennan have partnered with the Art of Football, a popular clothing brand which specialises in producing designs inspired by the beautiful game, to release a football shirt inspired by the Gillette song.
All the profits raised by the sale of this slick design – which is available now for a recommended price of £60 – will go straight to Football Beyond Borders (FBB). This revered charitable foundation supports young people from areas of socio-economic disadvantage. These individuals are passionate about football but disengaged at school, so FBB’s fleet of talented employees help them finish their studies with the skills and grades to make a successful transition into adulthood.
Grennan is a self-confessed football obsessive – pivoting away from a childhood spent rooting for Manchester United to support his local club, Coventry – and spent time at various professional academies in his youth.
“I’m a failed footballer,” the hugely popular musician shrugged.
“The real honest truth is that I wasn’t good enough, unfortunately. I was a realist from from from an early age. And I knew that and I had to pick a different path and a different journey. And I’m just glad that I picked the right journey.”
That journey has led to a career as a multi-platinum selling artist and Grennan now intends to use his wide-reaching platform to help those less fortunate.
“I met the two lads who are involved with FBB and just to see and hear their stories and to see like how well they’re doing and, and just to know what their charity are doing for young boys and girls around football and in the communities, they’re making a difference,” he gushed. “And now partnering up with Gillette, I know how important it is for Gillette and for me, and this is what this shirt is hopefully going to be doing.”
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