Sheffield United: The ex-Blade who has fallen in love with the city he still calls home

Twenty-two years after leaving Sheffield United, the former defender still lives a short drive away from their stadium. And despite being proud of his Marseille roots, remains in love with the city he represented - or one half of it at least - for two memorable years.

“Why did I stay here? First of all my partner, because she is from Sheffield,” Santos told The Star earlier this week, during an interview about his journey through football. “But it is the friendly people too. It is such a friendly city. So warm in terms of its personality, and that’s really what makes it so lovely.

“There is beautiful countryside all around us here. There are so many things to do. You are only two hours from London on the train as well. Everything I really need in life, it is here. It should get more recognition, definitely.”

Santos, now aged 51, made the last of his 68 appearances for United in March 2002; leaving the club in difficult circumstances following the ‘Battle of Bramall Lane’, when its match against West Bromwich Albion was abandoned when Neil Warnock’s side were reduced to six men.

Having arrived in South Yorkshire from The Hawthorns, after a spell with Tranmere Rovers, he went on to play for teams including Grimsby, Ipswich and Queens Park Rangers before entering the next phase of his career.

“I always say to friends and colleagues, the English football mentality suits me perfectly,” Santos, now a football scout, said. “When you defend, people appreciate your work more than in other places. That and the fact I always gave 100 percent and even more.”

“I had many great memories at United,” he continued. “Obviously one bad one but many more good ones, of the club, my teammates and the city. Look at how other people from elsewhere who played for United - John Gannon, Carl Asaba and Robert Page - are still here like me. That tells you something.”

MORE: https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-carl-asaba-on-the-blades-stoke-city-and-his-painful-return-to-bramall-lane-3413616