The real reason £25m Man Utd star drops ‘Depay’ from shirt

THE heartbroken father of Manchester United ace Memphis

Depay has begged his son to heal their bitter rift.

In an exclusive interview with the Sun on Sunday, Dennis

Depay reveals for the first time how Memphis has shunned

him, his half-brother and half-sister since becoming a star

footballer.

The 21-year-old Dutch winger even refuses to have his

surname Depay on the back of his shirt, using his first name

instead, because he claims his father abandoned him at the

age of four.

Devastated Dennis, 50, said: “Saying that I didn’t see him after

he was four is a lie.

“It is unbelievable, it is not nice. He is my son and I love him. I

am the man who gave him his first ball.

“He was not abandoned by me. That is not true. I was always

there for him.

“I saw him on YouTube talking about his dad, saying he didn’t

want to put my name on his back. It made me feel terrible.

“I would love to be back in touch with him. I miss him so

much.” 

Memphis is poised to follow in the footsteps of Man U greats

David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo after bagging the No 7

shirt when he signed to the club in a £25million deal in June.

He scored 22 goals in 30 league matches with PSV Eindhoven

before his move to the Red Devils.

His talent on the pitch has made him rich off it. He now owns

a flamboyant camouflage car and his £1.3million mansion in

Eindhoven, Holland, boasts a full-size boxing ring.

Meanwhile, his dad Dennis lives in a far more modest home in

a rundown suburb of Amsterdam.

Born in Ghana, Dennis moved to Moordrecht, Holland, at the

age of 23 in search of a better life.

A chance meeting with local girl Cora at a train station led to

romance — despite opposition from her parents.

They were not keen on the African immigrant who had two

children from a previous relationship. 

Dennis and Cora were keen to start a family and together they

flew to Ghana to bring back his children Geoffrey and

Georgina.

Then in 1994, four years after they married, they celebrated

the arrival of their only child, Memphis.

Dennis, an amateur footballer who played for Moordrecht,

quickly spotted his son’s talent.

He said: “We used to do so much together when he was

young. I loved him so much.

“He loved swimming, but he loved football more. I bought him

his first football and you could see he was talented. He was

so strong.

“We even played inside the house because the living room was

so big.

“When we went swimming we would take a ball and play

outside on the grass afterwards.

“Everywhere he went he had to take a ball. When we went to

church he would take a ball with him. He was crazy about

football from an early age, you could see this was a boy who

loved football.” 

But when Memphis was four his parents’ marriage broke

down. Dennis and his older children moved out.

Dennis, who works in a factory in Gouda and is a church

pastor, said he and Cora just drifted apart.

He explained: “It wasn’t working out. It wasn’t a big thing that

happened, the police weren’t visiting, we never hit each other

or shouted. Nothing like that.”

He is adamant he did not abandon Memphis after the split but

kept up regular contact. He says instead of paying child

support he made repayments to a £11,000 loan the couple

had.

He said: “The divorce happened but I was always going to see

him. I was giving money too.

“There was no problem with access. I could see Memphis

whenever I wanted. He stayed with me lots of times and I’d

buy him clothes — and footballs.

“I was always visiting him and they know it. 

“I was playing for Moordrecht and he started playing there in

the junior team when he was old enough. He used to come

along and watch me, his mum would bring him to see me

play.”

Memphis’s childhood was rocked again when Cora moved in

with a father of ten. Dennis claims his son was ostracised,

bullied and hit.

He said: “With the new guy Cora had a hard time and so did

Memphis. He and the other children hit Memphis sometimes

so I would go and help him.

“The other children were jealous of him and that was made

worse because he was a good footballer. The new man hit him

sometimes for the slightest thing.”

When he was nine, Memphis signed for nearby club Sparta

Rotterdam, where his miserable home life soon became

apparent. The young boy would arrive at training with tears in

his eyes. 

Dennis said: “One day Memphis arrived at my home and had

brought all his things. He said, ‘I don’t want to live with my

mum any more, I want to live with you’.

“I called his mum, who was crying. She only had one child, so

he returned home.

“The other kids didn’t like him because of his talent. They

began to hate him so the family turned against him. When he

was training with Sparta I would take him sometimes.

“Whenever he had an argument with his mum he’d ask me to

take him.”

Dennis believes the family turned Memphis against him after

he got his first professional contract with PSV Eindhoven in

2012.

He said: “His family said I would be after his money and to

leave me alone, that I will take his money to Africa. But I don’t

need his money. I have been working all this time. That’s when

the problems started.

“The last time I spoke to him face to face was a long time

ago, when he was 17. I was calling him and he wasn’t

answering so I travelled to the PSV training ground.  

“He was happy to see me and said he’d get tickets so I could

watch him. Then there was nothing. Everything they have said

is a lie.”

Dennis also claims that, since his move to Man U, Memphis

has broken off all contact with his brother Geoffrey, 30, and

sister Georgina, 27, a trainee midwife in Croydon, South

London.

Dennis, who has not been paid for this interview, said: “They

were in regular contact. When he went to Manchester

Georgina called and said she would see him.

“Then he changed his number and she heard nothing more. It

is very strange. We have done nothing wrong.

“The family is enjoying the success but that is not for me. I am

happy with what I have. I don’t want money but I would like to

have contact with him.

“I hope that one day this will sort itself out. I love my son and

he knows it. He knows the truth. I miss him so much, what is

happening is miserable, not nice.

“The family know I have done a lot for them but then money

comes along and they ruined my name. It is crazy.”