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Jonjo Shelvey was never the type of footballer to shy away from a challenge throughout his career, but one of his tougher battles came away from the pitch.
The former Liverpool, Newcastle United and England midfielder developed alopecia from an early age, with the condition making him a target for certain sections of fans.
One of the more common chants Shelvey had to endure referenced Harry Potter’s arch-nemesis.
Shelvey on the Voldemort chants
Voldemort’s lack of hair was the catalyst for these cruel chants, with Shelvey admitting that he found the abuse tough in his younger years.
“It was hard, but it’s something you learn to deal with,” he explains to FourFourTwo, admitting that he eventually just learned to live with it.
“I can’t change it, it’s part of me,” he adds. “It’s one of those things that you live with or you crumble.”
This has meant Shelvey has developed a thick skin that has enabled him to brush off the abuse of tens of thousands of fans.
“It’s not a nice thing to have 50,000 fans singing: “Harry Potter, he’s coming for you.” You just have to play along with it, and it hasn’t bothered me for a long time.”
Part of this process has meant that Shelvey found a routine that worked for him.
“When I first shaved my head, I used to do it every two days, as soon as a bit of it would come through, as it grows in patches, but now I just do it when there’s a game.
“I don’t care what I look like during the week.”
As Shelvey looks back at those early days of his career, he can at least draw on positives for the future.
“For young lads that suffer with it now, it’s a good thing that I went through it first. I was tormented, but at least I can relay my experiences to them.”
