James Maddison is putting the number ten role on his back this season, quite literally.
In a sport where the creativity and individualism of football’s historical No.10’s has become a dying art, Maddison, now known as ‘Madders’, is on a one-man mission to revive the position.
Fresh off winning Premier League Player of the Month, yet another England call-up and being announced as Tottenham vice-captain just months after arriving in the capital, Maddison has now gone one further in penning a new long-term deal with PUMA to extend his stay with one of football’s most exciting sportswear brands.
In recent seasons, superstars such as Neymar, Memphis Depay and Jack Grealish have all joined Maddison and the PUMA family, with the German-born brand also heavily investing in the women’s game as Barcelona duo Ingrid Engen and Fridolina Rolfö are regularly championed across brand socials. For Maddison, remaining with the brand was a no-brainer as he heads into the most exciting time of his career so far.
“When I first signed for PUMA five years ago, the reason I wanted to sign was because we had a vision and relationship-building where I felt valued,” says Maddison. “I really enjoyed the brand and looking back from then to now, the brand is even bigger and even better. The clothes, the trainers, the boots… everything about the brand has improved along the journey.”
In celebration of his new deal, Footballer Fits presenter Joseph Sam linked-up with the Premier League’s most in-form baller to talk about it and everything else from football to fashion and music to fatherhood.
Joseph: “Today we have a very special guest in the building. He needs no introduction, Spurs’ new number ten, England international and correct me if I’m wrong, were you not Premier League Player of the Month?”
Madders: “You don’t need to be corrected on that one.”
Joseph: “How you doing man?”
Madders: “Life is good at the minute. We’ve had a good start to the season. Off-the-pitch stuff is good. I’m in a good place. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult for players these days when you go to a new club and you make a move. You have to move city, move your family and even just getting new tactics, new team-mates. There’s a lot more that goes on than people see from the outside but to be fair, it’s been a fairly easy transition for me. That’s a credit to the club at the club and how they’ve made me feel going in. I feel like I’ve been there [Tottenham] for ages and we’re only five weeks into the season. So life is good on that front and we’ve had a good start that I hope can continue.”
Joseph: “What would you accredit your current form to?”
Madders: “Sticking it in the back of the net normally helps! I’ve had a couple of goals early on which is good because as an attacking player, you don’t want to wait too long for your first goal. A bit down to that, but a bit down to me feeling free you know? The new manager is so good, he lets me express myself in my role and in the team. The type of player I am and the type of person I am, I’m at my best when I’m free and I’m able to go and express myself. Letting me have that freedom to play, create and do what I do, I’ve obviously reaped the rewards and ended up with Player of the Month.”
Joseph: “Let’s take it right back to the start. Born and raised in Coventry, what was a young Madders like? Good kid, bad kid?”
Madders: “Cheeky chappy, I’d say. If you asked some of my teachers in the past, they’d probably say hardworking, good lad but with a cheeky side to him. Grew up in Coventry and absolutely loved it, ended up playing for Coventry which as a little boy was my dream. Just to represent my hometown, being from Coventry, friends from Coventry, family all from Coventry, that was a great feeling and I have good memories from those early days. It was a good time in my life.”
Joseph: “Give us a story from your childhood.”
Madders: “There’s one from primary school, the first time the headteacher ever had to call my parents. My Mum wasn’t too happy when she found out it was the headteacher calling because I’d gotten into a bit of trouble. It was because I’d climbed the building to get on the roof because the football went on the roof, and it was the only football we had to play with at lunchtime. I guess I love footy so much, that was the only reason I climbed up the gutter to get it. It was all in good faith, it was all just to keep the game going for the boys and because I love the game. That’s what I’m putting it down to anyway. So call home from the headteacher would be the story, but all for footy!”
Joseph: “You have a tattoo that reads ‘the love of a family is life’s greatest blessing. That’s a really strong message. How big of a value does family place in your life?”
Madders: “You’ve done your research! That was my first ever tattoo too at 17 or 18. Family is everything. Anyone who knows me knows how close I am to my Mum, my Dad and my brother and now I’ve started my own family with my girlfriend and we have three children now. Newborn twins into the family ten weeks ago so it’s carnage in the Maddison household at the minute but family is everything. That was the first tattoo I got because that quote means a lot to me. It is life’s greatest blessing. You have your best moments and all the success I’ve had in my career so far would be nothing if I wasn’t able to share it with them. With success, you feel most proud when you get to share it with the people closest to you. Especially my parents and my brother, I have such a good relationship with them and speak to them every single day without fail and they come to every game – home and away – we’re such a tight-knit family so that was the reasoning behind the first tattoo.”
Joseph: “Speaking about your parents, for most footballers, the sacrifice of their parents helped them get to the position they’re in today. Is that the case for you?”
Madders: “Oh, 100 percent. It’s a bit different now – especially at the big clubs – for academies to be able to provide for kids and families who aren’t able to travel but that wasn’t the case when I was younger. I had my Dad driving me up and down the country on a Sunday morning, sometimes for the team in the year above where I wouldn’t even end up playing. I was taken as a substitute and not even get on the pitch but my Dad would wake up on a Sunday morning and drive me there himself. My Mum and Dad didn’t have a lot of money growing up, we were just a normal family really, so he’d sacrifice everything to take me. He’d drive me to Newcastle, Wales or wherever it would be for me to play. Sacrifices like that are why I’m so grateful and why I try and share my success with them because ultimately I wouldn’t be in this position sat here now if it wasn’t for them.”
Joseph: “Talk about what fatherhood is like… is it everything you expected it to be?”
Madders: “Good question. I wasn’t really sure, to be honest. I don’t really ever get nervous in many situations but becoming a father is what made me most nervous. It’s the unknown. You can have people around you like your Mum or Dad telling you what it’s like and all this, but ultimately you just learn on the job and you just go with it, you know? It’s been unbelievable, probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. My boy Leo, who is two now, is a proper character. The twins are newborns so at that stage, it’s just a lot of changing nappies, a lot of crying and a lot of sleepless nights. But Leo is at a great age where he likes kicking a ball around and being a nuisance. He comes to all the matchdays in his kit and he’s at that precious age where every moment is beautiful.”
Joseph: “On the topic of family, you came out in a recent interview and talked about how you liked to be the man at the roast dinner. That one went flying all over Twitter, you’ve been going viral, and there’s been a whole lot of memes. Right now, I’m going to give you the chance to set the record straight.”
Madders: “I’m glad you asked. This is where we’re going to clear this up. I’ve seen the memes and some of them are really funny to be fair. They’ve been out in my group chat. The initial conversation was actually about a showman instead of a main man and about how Spurs have always had a showman, you know… Gazza, Klinsmann, Dele, Eriksen. That midfield creative showman. They said ‘Is that a conscious thing, do you like to be that guy?’ and I said I’m kind of like that as a personal as well as a footballer, if you know what I mean, I like to be life of the party, telling jokes and stuff and even at a roast dinner, I’d be like the life of it, but the ‘main man at roast dinner’ kind of killed me… some of the memes were hilarious.”
Joseph: “You joined Tottenham over the summer, big signing, new number ten, vice-captain, talk about your emotions and what it took to get to this point.”
Madders: “Tottenham is obviously one of the big-six clubs and even in my short period, I can see why it’s such a loved club and why it has such a big fanbase. Like I said earlier, I’ve settled in really well, becoming the vice-captain was unexpected, I didn’t know, the gaffer didn’t tell me or give me any pre-warning. He’s not that type of guy, he’d rather just say it there and then. I was a little bit taken aback, I didn’t expect it as I’d only just walked through the door but it’s an honour nonetheless and all things are going well at the minute. There’s going to be tougher times down the road, it’s not always plane sailing and we’ll be ready for that. I’m 26 now, I’m experienced and I’ve been around the game long enough, I know a season is like a rollercoaster but you’ve got to enjoy the highs whilst they’re there. Life is good right now and every day above ground is a great day.”
Joseph: “Throughout your career, you’ve had a lot of twists and turns to get to where you are today. You’ve also had a lot of teammates and different characters in the dressing room. For club or country, who for you is your most interesting teammate?”
Madders: “Good question. Most interesting teammate? Wow. I think purely just because of how he is, I’d have to say Jamie Vardy is definitely up there. He’s just a one-off character, you know? He’s an absolute legend, a great guy and a close friend. He’s a funny guy, everything you think you see with Jamie Vardy, is what you get. The Redbulls, the mickey-taking of other fans and stuff like that, he’s a proper windup merchant so an interesting character but a great character. Great for the dressing room, loves winding people up and playing pranks. He’s a top guy and someone I’m still in contact with now even though I’ve left the club so I’d probably say Jamie, yeah.”
Joseph: “Who would you say are your closest friends in football?”
Madders: “Pftt, that’s another good question. I don’t want to annoy or forget anyone. I’ve got lots of good friends, but I don’t think I’d be able to pinpoint one. I’d have too many WhatsApps after the interview after the interview goes out. But I’ve got lots of good friends, especially in the England setup, there’s a real good set-up and even outside of that, there’s too many to name.”
Joseph: “Talk about the vibe in the England camp now, from the outside looking in, it feels like a really tight-knit group.”
Madders: “It’s exactly that, to be honest. Gareth’s [Southgate] obviously created a vibe and a feeling. I’ve heard players in the past, not to quote them on something but I’ve heard Frank Lampard and Gary Neville say stuff about what it was like when they were representing England and now it’s nothing like how they said it was for them. You obviously have club rivalries. For example, I’m at Tottenham now and Arsenal are our biggest rivals and the North London Derby is massive for all the supporters but that doesn’t mean when we represent England and go and put the Three Lions on, that me, Bukayo, Declan and Rammers are not going to get on because we’re playing for the country. I think that’s the thing that’s shifted in the last few years where Gareth has created a dynamic where we all get along and actually enjoy games and each other’s company knowing that when we go and play Arsenal, we’re not going to be mates for ninety minutes. The balance is really good and it’s a pleasure to be involved in, so hopefully that continues.”
Joseph: “You’ve just signed a new long-term deal with PUMA. Fellow players at the brand like Memphis Depay have their own lifestyle collections with the brand. Is that something that’s potentially down the line for you?”
Madders: “Who knows? We’ll have to see. We’ll have to ask the big dog. Something like that would be amazing. You’ve got to keep doing your on-the-pitch stuff and the rest usually takes care of itself. Memphis is obviously a big player and a cool guy, so that stuff works really well for him so potentially, yeah. I’m glad you asked the question so now I can go and push it.”
Joseph: “In 2019, you linked up with Jay-Z. Talk about what that was like. Not many people get that experience.”
Madders: “Yeah, it was amazing. It was very interesting. We obviously went to the PUMA headquarters in Germany so we got the jet over, it was a brilliant day. Me and my team and a couple of friends went and I look back now like ‘did that actually happen?’. He was such a nice guy as well, such a humble, down-to-earth guy. I got lucky and got to actually sit with him for a bit and have a chat and try to pick his brain a little bit. He was open and answering the questions I had. His phone even went off at one point and it said ‘B’ with a love heart, so I’m assuming Beyoncé was calling him. I nearly said ‘I’ll get that if you want mate!’ but nah, a top guy who left a lasting impression on me for how much of a nice humble guy he was.”
Joseph: “So, I’m going to put you on blast right now. £500k or dinner with Jay-Z. Which one you choosing?”
Madders: “I’d probably take the £500k just because I’ve already met him. I think he’d approve because he’s a clever man and he’d say I was an idiot if I didn’t because I’ve already met him. If you’d have asked me that six years ago, I might have said Jay-Z!”
Joseph: “Let’s talk music. We know you’re a big Morgan Wallen fan. How did you get into him?”
Madders: “Morgan’s a country singer and recently, I’ve started listening to a bit more country because of Harry Kane because he’s a big country music fan. I don’t know if it was at England or early pre-season on the tour, but he connected up to the speaker and played a couple of Morgan’s tunes and they were sick to be fair. Country music isn’t for everyone, my girlfriend’s American and she loves country but I’ve never really gotten too much into it but lately, country music is my thing at the minute. I like to be diverse, you know? If you shuffled my phone, it would go from Lil Baby to Enrique Iglesias to Westlife so I have a wide range of music.”
Joseph: “What’s your favourite concert you’ve ever been to?”
Madders: “Good question. I’d probably say two. I went to see Tom Grennan. He’s a good friend and put on the works for us, we got VIP, got to go on the stage and shouted me out before he sang one of my favourite songs of his. So that was a real cool experience. I saw Calvin Harris at Ushuaïa in Ibiza in the summer which was levels. Could be up there with one of the best nights of my life I think, it was everything you would imagine a Calvin Harris in Ibiza concert would be.”
Joseph: “Spinning it back to Spurs, who has the best music taste in the dressing room?”
Madders: “Me. Me. Would you expect me to say anyone else? I like country but that doesn’t mean I’d play it to the changing room. That probably wouldn’t be the vibe but I’ve got endless possibilities on my phone. The DJ is normally me or Bissouma but Bissouma is very Lil Baby, Lil Baby, Lil Baby then Gunna. There’s a lot of U.S. rap in the dressing room, filming each other dancing and that sort of vibe, but you’ve got to be able to mix it up.”
Joseph: “Are you a big gamer?”
Madders: “It changed when I became a father, you don’t have the time really… I used to be a big gamer but if I’m honest, I haven’t been for a little while now because you don’t get that time when you’re a parent and I think everyone watching who is a Dad will know what I mean. Gaming has gone down in the pecking order but in my childhood, I used to like gaming.”
Joseph: “Who is the best and worst gamer in the England camp?”
Madders: “Harry Maguire and Jordan Pickford love playing. I know Kyle Walker loves Fortnite, Harry and Jordan will go off and play 2 vs. 2 games on Call of Duty so I know they like playing. I haven’t played any at FIFA for ages. I used to play against Trent Alexander-Arnold in the U21’s and I used to batter him. You can put that as the headline. He used to get obliterated and pass the pad, 3-0 after twenty minutes and that. I’m sure I’ve got videos of him apologising from years ago.”
Joseph: “We know you’re a big golf fan. Talk about your upcoming golf event, the Maddison Invitational on behalf of the Sophie Sparkle Foundation.”
Madders: “Sophie passed away a couple of years ago now but I’m still in contact with her parents which is really nice. It’s something I wanted to do for them. Sophie was brilliant. Her leg had to be almost amputated and turned around and we used to joke that she was the only player in the world that could backheel it forwards because she had that type of personality. So it’s just to have a good day, lots of big faces and lots of big names and raise some money for a good cause.”
Joseph: “Besides yourself, name some of the other top footballer golfers?”
Madders: “I know Gareth Bale is really good. I’ve never seen him play or played against him but I’ve heard he’s pretty good. For the lads that I’ve played with, Harry Kane’s a very good golfer. A very low handicapper. He can hit it far. There are a few coming to the golf day actually.”
Joseph: “Let’s talk fashion. When did you start having a passion for it?”
Madders: “Passion for fashion, that should be the headline! I don’t know to be fair, it’s a good question. If you asked me, I’d say I’ve been fashionable forever but if I look back at some of my outfits from back in the day and across the years, some people would probably disagree with that, even myself. Fashion comes in swings and roundabouts, it will be out for years and it will come back in. If you’d have said to me eight years ago, when I was eighteen years old, ‘you’re going to like big baggy jeans’, I’d have said ‘no’ but then a few years ago, they came back in and now I wear them. Now I look back at when I was eighteen wearing really tight skinny jeans and I’m like ‘what was I doing’, you know? That’s what fashion is. I just enjoy wearing clothes that I like and that make me feel good. That’s the beauty of it. Everyone in the room will be wearing something different but that’s what they feel comfortable in and that’s what they want to wear. It’s all about how it makes you feel in the clothes you wear and how you represent yourself. I enjoy wearing clothes and finding brands that are a bit different and people may not know about.”
Joseph: “Recently there’s been a big resurgence of players getting involved in fashion and self-expression through fashion. What would you attribute that to?”
Madders: “The self-expression stuff is beautiful really. We see it in the NBA and you see it with some clubs now where lads are turning up to games in their own clothes which is a positive in my eyes, because you get to wear what you want and feel free. I also understand clubs wanting a team to be a team and wear the club colours, the club tracksuit, or whatever it is. I think that’s fine. I think you see a lot of players putting out posts on Instagram these days because they want to show what they’re wearing and you probably get more of that because clubs make players wear tracksuits a lot and then it means players have to go and do their own thing. Some players a bit more lowkey with it. I think that’s the beauty of self-expression, it’s just whatever you want to do.”
Joseph: “We’ve seen Barcelona start their tunnel fits, which is also in the MLS. If the Premier League introduced tunnel fits, how would you come looking on a game day?”
Madders: “It depends how I feel. I’m very relaxed about it. Sometimes, you wake up and might want to dress up a bit today. Look smart, look causal, whatever I feel and hopefully try and pull it off. That’s what you lot do, that’s what Footballer Fits is all about, for the critique on the ‘gram. But yeah, it depends on how I feel on that day.”
Joseph: “Besides yourself, give me your top three stylers in the England dressing room?”
Madders: “This is going to cause some upsets, ain’t it? In no particular order, I’ll give you three that I like. I’d say Jude. I like how he dresses, I think he always looks clean. It might not be the loudest, brightest outfit where people are talking about it but it goes under the radar and looks clean and smooth. So I like his style. I like the way Chilly dresses, Ben Chilwell. Again, always looks clean, always looks well put together and is similar to myself. Some people wear stuff where I think ‘that looks really cool, I wouldn’t wear it, but it suits them’ like Memphis and Barcelona’s Jules Koundé. He dresses in a way where he expresses himself and looks really cool, but I wouldn’t wear it because it’s not me. So I’ll say Jude, Chilly and one more… I’d say Mason Mount. Again, I’m warming to them three because I see similarities in our style. So Jude, Chilly and Mase. I’m happy with that three.”
Joseph: “Away from England, what other ballers do you like the look of in fashion and tip your hat to?”
Madders: “One thing I would say is I love Karim Benzema. Not necessarily the way he dresses, though he dresses well, but it’s just the way he puts together all his stuff on the ‘gram. The confidence and what he wears, he wears it with his chest out. Joe Willock always looks clean, I really like how he dresses. He’s someone who expresses himself in how he dresses. I would say Reiss Nelson as well. I really like Reiss, I was in the U21s with Reiss. Great guy, a really, really nice boy. Humble, well-spoken, really got a lot of time for Reiss and again, the way he dresses is really cool.”
Joseph: “What piece do you look to first or most importantly when picking an outfit?”
Madders: “It always depends on the vibe. It depends on the motive or the event I’m going to. For example, if I’m going to England and to St. George’s Park, I would never turn up to represent my country in a crazy night-out outfit. That wouldn’t make any sense, I’d look like a bit of a wally. But it all depends. I love shoes, I love trainers but just making sure it all flows. The good thing about fashion is that no one can tell you it’s wrong. If I had to pick one thing, I would say shoes. Shoes and trousers. I like how your trouser fits on your trainer, great example, PUMA. Shoutout PUMA! You want to look down and like how it looks because you’re representing yourself.”
Joseph: “Game day. Everyone wonders what ballers carry in their gameday bags. Give us your five must-haves for game day.”
Madders: “I always have my washbag, with all my toiletries in. I will normally take a duffel which will consist of hairspray, a hairdryer just because the hotels we stay at don’t always have one so when I get out of the shower and need to style my hair, a hairdryer is always essential. A deck of cards, just in case we want a game of poker on the coach. iPad is vital in case the tele doesn’t have Netflix or YouTube in the hotel. Lastly… a spare pair of pants normally helps! Spare pair of PUMA boxers, great fit, you can get them on the website so yeah, five there for you.”
Joseph: “Madders, thank you for your time and we’re all looking forward to seeing you ball out for the rest of the season.”
Photography: Shane Bain & Kieran Clarke
Producer & Words: Jordan Clarke
Interview: Joseph Sam
Video: Cory Shillingford-Cox
Styling: Marcus Pancho
Cover Design: Kyle Cochran
Location: Sizona London
In Collaboration With: PUMA
