Jack Grealish has been praised for appearing to donate £5,000 to a 20-year-old Birmingham City fan who was given only weeks to live.
The former Aston Villa star put old rivalries aside to donate the money to Dylan Lamb, who is battling blood cell cancer, according to an entry on GoFundMe.
Lamb’s family have put together a £1m appeal on the fundraising site to raise money for a clinical trial of treatment in America.
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
One of the more than 7,000 donations was seemingly that of the Manchester City and England winger, whose contribution was the highest valued.
Dylan’s sister-in-law Kelly Payne said: “We've been sending the appeal to loads of footballers – I think he probably saw it.”
Meanwhile another person on social media, a Swansea City fan, said Grealish “continues to show how much of a class act he is. And that not all footballers are out of touch with the fans .. Living his best life at the same time.”
Another person tweeted: “Fantastic gesture by Jack Grealish for a great cause #bcfc #mcfc.”
Grealish previously made headlines after donating £5,000 towards a friend and a Villa fan's funeral after his tragic death earlier this year.
The 27-year-old footballer’s rivalry with Birmingham City is a deep one. Not only did he captain the club’s arch nemeses Aston Villa, but a Birmingham supporter once invaded the pitch during a clash between the two to punch Grealish in the head. The then-Villa player eventually went on to score the winning goal in that match.
Dylan's mother, Kim Veitch, said: “Wow, we as Dylan's family and friends cannot even begin to express enough of our gratitude for all the donations, shares, and messages of support (the messages really are helping us to stay positive).
“We really feel the love and prayers and we would like to thank each and every one of you individually for your support. Dylan is so touched by it all and sends his sincere thanks too. Please, please, please keep sharing his story so we can get it out to as many people as possible..
“Please please please keep pushing and sharing, to help get Dylan the treatment he needs and deserves. He has fought so long and hard, let's carry him the rest of the way. Much love!”
Birmingham City FC added on Twitter: “Blues supporter Dylan, 20, is currently fighting for his life, with his best chance of survival being a clinical trial in the US. Due to his life expectancy, he has just weeks to hit his target”.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
