English football legend kidnapped and held for ransom at knifepoint

He shared the story of his ordeal

An English football legend has told the story of his kidnapping and being held for ransom at knifepoint.

Everton hero Adrian Heath shared the story of his ordeal with The Athletic, explaining how he was lured into a trap from the very start.

The two-time English First Division winner believed he was travelling to Morocco for what he thought was an interview for a managerial role in Saudi Arabia.

The Toffees legend was an experienced manager by this point, having short stints at Burnley and Sheffield United as manager, before heading to the MLS to coach Austin Aztex, Orlando City and Minnesota United across 15 years.

He even had the chance to coach Ballon d’Or winner and Brazil icon Kaká at Orlando.

Heath had no suspicions upon touching down in North Africa, having already contacted the likes of Steven Gerrard, who had managed in Saudi, to discuss the opportunity.

The 65-year-old arrived in Tangier where he was greeted by two men at the airport with flowers, before ushering him into a black, four-door sedan.

After 40 minutes of driving, the car turned off the motorway and headed to a small harbour town, before arriving at an apartment building in a “sketchy neighbourhood”, far from the beach hotel he was promised.

Three men waited in the room who eventually told Heath he was going to send them money.

While Heath didn’t tell The Athletic how much they were demanding, he said it was in the six figures.

Heath said one of the men told him: “This is how it’s going to work: You’re going to send us money. And if you don’t, you won’t see your wife again. You won’t see your two kids and your grandkids.”

Heath managed to string out the kidnapping by saying no money could be transferred because it was past the working day in the United States, where he lives with his family.

While he bought more time, his family had managed to find his location after they became aware of his situation when the captors made him call his wife Jane to make the transfer happen.

Fortunately for Heath, his kidnappers had forgotten to turn his phone off, meaning the ‘Find My Friends’ app was still functioning.

His family in the States had “an aggressive phone call” with the agent who initially set up the meeting and showed a screenshot of the location.

Heath’s son Harrison, a former MLS midfielder, also had contact with an official based in New York’s FBI office.

Shortly after the kidnappers knew that their location had been exposed, they drove him back to the airport and dropped him off with his passport, phone and wallet, taking just the roughly £450 he had on him.

He rushed into the airport and bought a ticket for the “next flight to Europe”.

Heath returned to the states via Madrid.

His wife and the FBI greeted him upon his arrival home.

Heath had never intended to share his story, which happened in November 2024, beyond a small circle of friends and the League Managers Association (LMA).

However, he chose to speak out when he got the call from an FBI agent that the same thing had happened to another manager.

“You think it’s over, but it’s never going to go away,” said his wife Jane to The Athletic.

“The thought of another family going through anything like that.”

Heath also heard there may have been two cases before his own, leading to him and his wife speaking out on the ordeal to spread awareness of the darker underbelly of the football world.