Unusual shocking remarks! Ki Sung-yueng's teammate who advanced to the UAE's third division, is it because of money? I didn't want to raise my child in England

Oct 16, 2025

Unusual shocking remarks! Ki Sung-yueng's teammate who advanced to the UAE's third division, is it because of money? I didn't want to raise my child in England
Ki Sung-yong and Johnjo Shelby Swansea City were colleagues. REUTERS Yonhap News



Unusual shocking remarks! Ki Sung-yueng's teammate who advanced to the UAE's third division, is it because of money? I didn't want to raise my child in England
Source=Arabian Falcons SNS Capture
Unusual shocking remarks! Ki Sung-yueng's teammate who advanced to the UAE's third division, is it because of money? I didn't want to raise my child in England
Source=Arabian Falcons SNS Capture
The reason why former England midfielder Jonjo Shelby (33, Arabian Falcons), who shared a team with Ki Sung-yueng (36, Pohang) at Swansea City and Newcastle United in the past, left for the Middle East stage at the age of his early 30s was Environment.

Shelby, who played 278 games (23 goals) in the English Premier League alone for Liverpool, Swansea, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, drew attention when he joined the UAE club Falcons in September. The Falcons are a new team founded in 2023 and are in the third division.

Shelby revealed the reason for entering the UAE for the first time in an interview with British public broadcaster 'BBC' on the 15th (local time). When he said that a video of him missing a penalty kick against Alpas recently garnered 1 million views on social media, he said "I don't care. 'I've seen a few comments saying I went to the UAE for money. Inside 'What money? I thought, 'There's no way there's money in the UAE's third division."




"The average salary of a soccer player here is about 2,000 pounds (about 3.8 million won). It's nothing compared to the money I made during my career. My brother who works in a London hotel now makes more money than I do. I didn't come to the UAE for money." Of course, Shelby, who played six games for England, is likely to receive a higher salary than the average salary.

Unusual shocking remarks! Ki Sung-yueng's teammate who advanced to the UAE's third division, is it because of money? I didn't want to raise my child in England
Source=Arabian Falcons SNS Capture
Shelby, a free agent last summer, suffered an unexpected injury after failing the Hull City tryout. At a time when transferring to Europe was becoming increasingly difficult, a childhood friend contacted me. It was a gesture to move to Dubai for the growth of the Falcons.

Shelby, who considered her trip to the UAE an opportunity for a "new start", is happy and satisfied now. I am enjoying soccer. I'm waking up, enjoying what I do, spending time with my family," he said, expressing satisfaction.




Then "Honestly, I didn't want my (three) kids to grow up in England. Fortunately, I lived in a nice neighborhood in England, but I couldn't enjoy such a life where I originally lived. You can't wear a watch or carry a cell phone in London." Recently, London has been plagued by theft. According to the Metropolitan Police Agency, about 80,000 mobile phones were stolen in London alone last year, and the valuables of former F1 player driver Jensen were stolen.

Shelby said "I'm not very interested in politics. It's just looking into what's happening. Recently, I saw people getting arrested for posting on Twitter and waving the flag saying, `I'll take back the country.' I'm not smart enough to comment on such a thing. But I think it's definitely different in Britain from 10 to 15 years ago."

Shelby said the North East, home to Newcastle, is the only place she wants to live if she goes back to England. "You won't get the love I got at Newcastle anywhere else. There, he really cares and loves the player."




Shelby, who played for Swansea from 2013 to 2016 and Newcastle from 2016 to 2023, spent a long time in the midfield with Ki Sung-yueng. Ki Sung-yueng played for Swansea from 2012 to 2018 and Newcastle from 2018 to 2020.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.