Ex-Manchester City footballer jailed after getting caught hiding drugs in his underwear
17 January 2024, 17:39
A former Manchester City footballer has been jailed after trying to hide drugs in his underwear.
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Max Norman, 25, who played in City's youth set-up for two years before going on to play for a host of other sides, including in Turkey, was discovered with drugs three times in two months.
One of those times he hid the drugs down his trousers when police detained him - only for them to fall out during the search.
Norman was sentenced to four and a half years in prison this week, after pleading guilty to drug possession charges.
According to his LinkedIn profile, after Norman left Manchester City in 2015, he went to Club Deportivo El Ejido in Spain, then Morecambe and Tranmere for short spells. He then spent eight months in Turkey with Alanyaspor in 2019.
Norman has been without a club since then.
He was first arrested in September 2021 in Seaforth in Liverpool. Police found drugs on him worth over £750, as well as nearly £250 in cash. He claimed to just be a drug user, but messages on his phone suggested it had been used for dealing.
In the second arrest on October 14 that year, officers discovered more drugs on him and an accomplice.
Police then searched his stash in Liverpool city centre, finding heroin, crack cocaine and cocaine worth £50,000 in a search of Norman's house.
His lawyer Stuart McNally said that Norman had been a "footballer who played at a high level both in the United Kingdom and Europe".
Mr McNally said that he had suffered a brain injury during a car crash.
The lawyer added: "He is a highly intelligent young man, capable of achieving. He does appreciate that these are serious offences. The defendant knows the consequences.
"He has a supportive family. He has employment available. When he is released, there is some stability. The prison experience, for him, has been stark. It has been chastening."
