Kit Boy Gets Free Mercedes As A Thank You

Big-hearted Birmingham midfielder Olivier Kapo shrugged off the disappointment of the club’s Premier League relegation by giving his bootboy, James McPike, a £30,000 Mercedes as a thank you gesture for looking after his kit during his first season at St Andrew’s.

McPike, 20, had initially been disappointed when Kapo turned down his request for a pair of boots to mark the end of the campaign. But his mood ligthened considerably when Kapo instead gave him the keys to his car.

McPike, who signed professional terms as a 17-year-old earns an estimated £3000 a week - 100 times less than Kapo - and told his team-mate he could not accept as he couldn’t afford the insurance.

But Kapo, 27, then drove the shocked youngster to his home, handed him the spare set of keys and the car’s logbook and insisted on paying for a year’s insurance.