As Rangers legend Graeme Souness was made a CBE at Windsor Castle he noted that fundraising for a charity has allowed people to see “the real me”.
Souness, who served as both a player and manager at Rangers and Liverpool, was honoured for his services to football and charity by the Prince of Wales Prince William today, reports the Scottish Daily Express. The Scotland icon played at three World Cups, won two league titles with Rangers and secured five league titles and three European Cups with Liverpool before spending his time as a pundit.
As well as that, he is also the vice president of Debra UK which raises awareness of epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a group of genetic skin conditions that cause the skin to blister and tear at the slightest contact. He began working with the charity six years ago and helped collect £1.5 million for future research when he participated in a swimming challenge across the English Channel last year.
Souness told the PA news agency: “I think when you go to work, whatever job you do, you become quite a different person to what you really are, certainly in the demands of football management and being a football player. I am an emotional man, and when I get involved in this charity and when I’m around these poor children, I am emotional.
“Now that I’ve been involved for six years, I get it now – I understand the plight of these children, and it’s just pushing me to do more and more for them if I can. You’ve seen a real me – I’m not someone who’s pumped up with adrenaline wants to go to war with everyone on a football pitch, that was my workplace. Now I’m trying to be a decent human being.”
Souness stated that being named a CBE was “always a team effort” shared with his Debra fundraisers and ranked among his finest accomplishments, sticking it “up there with European Cups.”
When asked if he was ever going to return to football management or punditry, Souness said his focus was on his next Debra fundraising event, another swim across the Channel before a bike ride from Dover to Westminster, in May.
He continued: “The aim is to get more awareness and hopefully raise a similar amount of money, we’ve got to get it out there that these children have no light at the end of the tunnel.
“Every day is a groundhog day for them, they suffer unimaginable pain and of course there’s a mental aspect to it as well. That’s where my focus is right now – it’s not coming back to football. I’ve been there, ticked that box. This is about raising awareness and raising money for Debra.”
Souness said he discussed Premier League football with Prince William, a keen Aston Villa fan, during his investiture ceremony. He said: “He’s still hurting a wee bit from my team (Liverpool) beating his team last weekend, but I reassured him that Villa are certainly on the right path.”
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