‘I was a football hooligan, I went out looking for fights’ – Nadhim Zahawi

Well, we’ve got our weird and wonderful headline for the weekend. Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor of the UK, told guests at the Henley Literature Festival something they – nor any of us – could ever have guessed.

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The multi-millionaire Conservative politician revealed to the crowd that he used to be a football hooligan. Though most of his recent fights have been with HMRC, Zahawi explained that he once ran with Liverpool’s firm, taking on all-comers in the street.

It’s an interesting one, though. His loyalties seem to have strayed in recent years, with Zahawi stating publicly in 2022 that he’s now a Manchester United fan. Should he return to frontline politics, we wouldn’t be ruling out a defection to a different party. He’s got it in him…

Despite holding senior Cabinet positions under the last government, and making an absolute mint in his professional life, Mr. Zahawi wasn’t above an old-fashioned scrap back in his youth. He hinted that his troubled upbringing, fleeing Iraq when he was 11, may have played a part.

Nadhim Zahawi also explained that he would organise fights from phone boxes, looking to set up the next scrap on an away day. The scarcely-believable claims have turned heads on social media – with one particular anecdote standing out above the rest.

Nadhim Zahawi vs a police horse – it didn’t end well

During one excursion in London, Liverpool’s supposed top boy recounts being ‘smashed into a shop front’ by a police horse. The clash with Southampton fans left him feeling worse for wear, and it might just have been the reason he eventually left the firm.

“When I was younger, I was part of Liverpool’s firm and would go out looking for fights as a football hooligan. In one fight with Southampton fans, I remember a giant police horse smashed me into a shop front on Seven Sisters Road in London.” | Nadhim Zahawi