Graeme le Saux

Former England footballer Graeme Le Saux, once the most expensive defender in England, is considered to be one of the brightest players of his generation. He is also a most unusual modern professional footballer; one that attended university.

Starting his career at St Paul’s of Jersey, Graeme’s career flourished with two stints at Chelsea, punctuated by a successful spell at Blackburn Rovers, where he won the Premier League title. Having played over 400 first team matches and been twice part of a PFA Team of the Year (with Blackburn and then Chelsea) Graeme could arguably have achieved more success had injuries not affected his latter Chelsea role.

Since his retirement, Graeme has enjoyed punditry and co-commentary roles for Match of the Day 2 and BBC Radio 5 Live. In a non-sporting capacity Graeme has worked on programmes including Working Lunch and made a brief appearance on Dancing on Ice. His business acumen earned him an Ambassadorial role at ABN AMRO’s banking team for their Sports Desk.

Graeme was often taunted by fans and players alike for being too clever, having the audacity to read The Guardian and being interested in more cultured pursuits. His atypical footballers’ lifestyle and attitude fuelled false allegations about his sexuality and led to a famous altercation with Liverpool’s Robbie Fowler.

His experiences give Graeme a sharp insight into the business of football, the pressures, the teamwork and the flaws in the game and he speaks about the lessons he has learnt and how they can be applied in business. Graeme has been involved in visiting Delhi to promote business, tourism, culture and sporting links between London and India and has been an outspoken activist for greater support for gay people in sport.