The 16-year-old has already landed a major sponsorship and has plans for life after football
Birmingham City youngster Lorenzo Greer has more followers on YouTube than Kylian Mbappe, but wasn’t able to get over Manchester United and Kai Rooney in their clash. The 16-year-old, who goes by the name Tekkerz Kid on YouTube, has 1.7 million followers and more than 480 million views.
Greer has had his YouTube channel for a decade after it was set up by his parents, Nathan and Tara, who found football boots expensive to buy for their son. They hoped he could do some reviews and get one or two freebies along the way, but in the decade that’s followed, he’s charted his rise from grassroots football into Birmingham City’s academy and has dreams of becoming a professional.
He’s already met the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jude Bellingham and Mbappe himself, and is hoping to forge his own career in the game.
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Greer started for Birmingham’s Under-18s side away at Manchester United, but it was the hosts who ran out 6-0 winners in the Under-18 Premier League Cup, to finish Group G with maximum points.
United wonderkid JJ Gabriel was among those to feature, as was Wayne Rooney’s son Kai, who scored the sixth goal of the afternoon for Darren Fletcher’s side.
It was an afternoon to forget for Greer, who was making his first start of the season in defensive midfield, playing two years above his own age group after signing a scholarship earlier this summer.
Still, that won’t deter the youngster who has enjoyed an incredible rise. Greer is an athlete for Under Armour and met PSG defender Achraf Hakimi on his trip to Paris.
Greer looks to be the next young talent to come off the Birmingham City academy conveyor belt, with Jude and Jobe Bellingham two of the big-name stars playing their trade at top European clubs.
He may not have made a first-team appearance for Birmingham City but already has celebrity status in the city because of his social media following and wants to follow in Jude’s footsteps.
In an interview with SunSport, Greer said: “It’s crazy and doesn’t seem real. We never thought it would get this big.
“My parents were in a chip shop and had this cool idea, ‘Lorenzo likes football, why don’t we put some videos out showing how good he is?’
“We got about 50 views at first. Then more and more people started watching and we’ve just carried it on.”
Greer has already met some huge names from the world of football through his social media platform, but wants to follow in Jude Bellingham’s footsteps.
“Jude is an inspiration as someone from Birmingham and living proof it’s possible to make it,” he said. “I’ve met him a few times – at St George’s Park, in the city or even at the training ground when he was here.
“Jude is down to earth, humble and speaks to you like a normal person. It was mad to see him playing for Birmingham at 16, starting games and scoring goals. It was sick.
“Players like Bellingham, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, who hit such a high level in their teens, are almost like one in a billion. You cannot compare yourself to people like that because they don’t come along at that age very often.
“Jude told me, ‘Keep playing your game and stay humble.’ So I’ve got to do that, keep working hard and let my football do the talking. My end goal is to be a pro footballer.”
