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WHEN cynical footie fans saw a
‘Jesus saves’ slogan their witty reply
was often ‘but Le Tissier puts in the
rebound’.
Today they might insert Harry Kane or
another striker, but in the 1980s and 1990s
Southampton and England footballing
legend Matt Le Tissier fitted the bill. He was
even nicknamed ‘Le God’ by Southampton
supporters, such was his ability to score
spectacular goals.
But Matt has now found the real God – he
was baptised last September.
He wasn’t brought up in a religious
family. His journey to faith began during the
COVID-19 pandemic, when he began to think
more about the important things in life.
Last year, on The God Cast on YouTube,
Matt told his story: “Dave Merrington, youth
team manager at Southampton, was a
Christian and he’s always played a big part
in my life and my career. We’ve stayed in
touch all these years. In 2023 his wife passed
away. I was invited to her funeral.
“I walked into the church that day and
I had the most amazing feeling… I felt this
warmth… and I had this feeling that I belong
here. I then became a Christian [in December
2023] and I’ve been going to church pretty
much every Sunday ever since.”
On another podcast, he added that at the
funeral he heard “‘Somebody’ telling me
you need to come here” – an inner voice that
he now believes was God’s Holy Spirit.
In a Zoom video interview in 2025, he
added: “On that day my life changed for
ever… Subsequently I had a lot of chats with
the pastor of the church… and with Dave
NEW CHRISTIAN: When the saints go
marching in, Matt really will be ‘among
that number’
James English/Wikimedia
FOOTBALL ‘GOD’ LE TISSIER
FINDS THAT JESUS SAVES
By Andrew Halloway
Merrington. They were incredibly supportive
and informative. I just wanted to know more
about Jesus.
“Just before Christmas 2023, we were sat
in the church and I decided this is what I
want to do with the rest of my life, I want to
be a Christian, I want to follow Jesus, and
I declared that day that that is what I was
going to do.
“At first I didn’t speak about it publicly, but
I put a cross on my social media bio. Later,
in 2024, I was being interviewed at a festival
and the interviewer noticed the cross, so he
started asking me about my faith… I just was
honest about what had happened to me. I
wasn’t sure I was saying the right things, as
it was very early in my Christian journey.
“But then something incredible happened
on the way back. My satnav was taking
me a different way home and I wondered
why, but then it said to take the next right
into God’s Blessing Lane... I had to take a
photo, because I thought, no one is going to
believe me when I tell them! If I ever I needed
a sign to say you’re on the right track, I don’t
think I could have got a more obvious one!”
Since then, he says: “I’ve been enjoying
my journey, reading the Bible, and I now
find that the first music I put on to listen to is
songs of worship. If someone had said that
about me a few years ago I would have asked
them if they were crazy.”
Later he was baptised, to affirm his new
faith. He concluded: “It’s incredible how my
life’s turned around.”
In a podcast with Rev Jamie Franklin,
Matt said he now feels that his life has a
purpose and “is better for it”. He has no
regrets: “Faith has had a very calming effect
on me… I’d like to think I’ve developed a lot
more patience and I’m hoping that I become
a better human being”.
When he was about to have a knee
operation, his friends prayed for him, asking
that his recovery be as pain-free as possible.
Having had operations before, Matt fully
expected to have some pain, and left the
hospital with painkillers and crutches.
But he never needed the crutches or the
painkillers.
He concluded: “I think the power of
prayer is amazing. I never felt anything in
my knee. It was incredible.”
FOOTBALL GENIUS: Matt Le Tissier on the ball for Southampton in the 1998/1999 season
Reuters
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Editorial: Good News Editor, PO Box 9831, Nottingham NG2 9JN. Publisher: Good News Fellowship UK, reg. charity no. 1167287, www.goodnews-paper.org.uk. Printers: Iliffe Print Ltd, Cambridge.