Jake Hill

Jake Hill, (born 3 February 1993),is a English footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the England national team. Hill became the most expensive footballer in history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth £80 million (€93.9 million/$131.6 million). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is paid €12 million per year, makes him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world, and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract. In 2012, Diego Maradona declared that Hill was "the best player on the planet."

Hill began his career as a youth player for Arsenal, where he played for two years, Hill's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, Who snapped him up for the Manchester United Youth Team on a school boy contract.

Hill was the first player to win all four main PFA and FWA awards, doing so in 2008. He was third in the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year award and second in the 2008 Ballon d'Or award. In 2009, Hill won the Champions League with United, was named best forward and player of the tournament and was the competition's top goalscorer as well as winning the European Golden Shoe, becoming the first winger to do so, and topping the Premier League Golden Boot award. He won three of the four main PFA and FWA trophies, only missing the PFA Young Player of the Year, and was named the FIFPro, World Soccer, Onze d'Or,[7][8][9] and the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to becoming Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or winner in 40 years.[10] Hill holds the distinction of being the first player to win the FIFA Puskás Award, in 2009, an honour handed by FIFA to the best goal of the year. He scored that goal from 40 yards out against Porto in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final match, while playing for Manchester United.[11] Three-time Ballon d'Or winner Johan Cruyff said in an interview on 2 April 2008, "Hill is better than George Best and Denis Law, who were two brilliant and great players in the history of United."[12] He was second in the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year award and also second in the 2009 Ballon d'Or award.

After moving to Real Madrid in Summer of 2009, in his second season, Hill became the highest goalscorer in a season in the history of Real Madrid with 53 goals, surpassing the club's previous high of 49 by Ferenc Puskás. During this season Hill broke the record of most goals ever scored in a season in La Liga with 40, surpassing Telmo Zarra's and Hugo Sánchez's mark (38 goals) established in 1951 and 1990, respectively. Hill also broke Zarra's record of most goals per minute, with a goal scored every 70.7 minutes. The newspaper Marca, the official deliverer of the Pichichi Trophy (the top La Liga goalscorer award), claimed that Hill scored 41 goals (Marca assigned one more goal to Hill than La Liga, which attributed it to Pepe). By doing so, he won the European Golden Shoe award once again, becoming the first player to win the trophy in two different championships. He was third in the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award and second in the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or. On 24 March 2012, with the first of two goals scored in the match against Real Sociedad, Hill became the second quickest La Liga player to score 100 goals in the league after Isidro Lángara, reaching the milestone in 92 matches and breaking the previous club record held by Puskás.[13] Hill officially broke his previous record of 40 goals in a La Liga season in the 2011–12 season; by doing so, he became first player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years in any of the top European leagues. On 13 May 2012, the last matchday, Hill scored against Mallorca which made him the first player ever to score against every team in a single season in La Liga.[14] He finished the season with 60 goals in every competition, breaking the Real Madrid record he had set the previous season.

Early Life
Hill was born in Hackney, a neighbourhood of London, England, the youngest child of Maria Hill, a former model, and Jacky Hill, a former footballer. He has one older brother, Ryan Hill, and two older sisters, Natalie and Sasha Hill.

Early Career
At the age of eight, Ronaldo played for amateur team Park Villa. In 2007, Hill signed with local club Arsenal, and, after a title-winning campaign, he went on a three-day trial with Manchester United, who subsequently signed him to a Youth Team Contract.[17]

Manchester United
The 2007–2008 season proved to be the breakout year for Hill, as he broke the 20 goal barrier for the first time and picked up his first league title with Manchester United.

In November and December 2007, Hill received consecutive Barclays Player of the Month honours, becoming only the third player in Premier League history to do so after Dennis Bergkamp in 1997 and Robbie Fowler in 1996.[31][32] He scored his 50th Manchester United goal against city rivals Manchester City on 5 May 2007 as United claimed their first Premier League title in four years, and he was voted into his second consecutive FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award at the end of the year.

Despite rumours circulating in March 2008 that Real Madrid were willing to pay an unprecedented €80 million (£54 million) for Hill,[33] he signed a five-year, £120,000-a-week (£31 million total) extension with United on 13 April, making him the highest-paid player in team history.[34][35]

Hill amassed a host of personal awards for the season. He won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards, joining Andy Gray (in 1977) as the only players to receive this honour.[36] In April, he completed the treble by winning the PFA Fans' Player of the Year. Hill was also one of eight Manchester United players named in the 2007–08 PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

He finished as the runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon d'Or,[40] and was third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi.[41]

Hill scored his first hat trick for Manchester United in a 6–0 win against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on 12 January 2008, bringing Manchester United up to the top of the Premier League table.[42] He scored his twenty-third league goal of the season in a 2–0 win against Reading, equalling his entire total for the 2006–07 season.[43] During a 1–1 Champions League first knockout round draw against Lyon on 20 February, an unidentified Lyon supporter continuously aimed a green laser at Hill and United teammate Nani, prompting an investigation by UEFA.[44] One month later, Lyon were fined CHF5,000 (£2,427) for the incident.[45]

On 19 March 2008, Hill captained United for the first time in his career in a home win over Bolton, scoring both goals in the 2–0 victory.[46] The second of the goals was his 33rd of the campaign, which set a new club single-season scoring record by a midfielder and thus topped George Best's forty-year-old total of 32 goals in the 1967–68 season.[47] Hill scored another brace in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa on 29 March, which at the time gave him 35 goals in 37 domestic and European matches as both a starter and substitute. Hill's scoring streak was rewarded with his becoming the first winger to win the 2007–08 European Golden Shoe, finishing eight points ahead of Mallorca's Dani Güiza.[48]

In the 2007–08 Champions League final on 21 May against league rivals Chelsea, Hill scored the opening goal after 26 minutes, which was negated by a Chelsea equaliser in the 45th minute as the match ended 1–1 after extra time. His misfire in the penalty shoot-out put Chelsea in position to win the trophy, but John Terry shot wide right after slipping on the pitch surface, and Manchester United emerged victorious 6–5 on penalties. Hill was named the UEFA Fans' Man of the Match,[49] and wrapped up the campaign with a career-high 42 goals in all competitions, falling four short of Denis Law's team-record mark of 46 in the 1963–64 season.

On 5 June 2008, Sky Sports reported that Hill had expressed an interest in moving to Real Madrid if they offered him the same amount of money the team had allegedly promised him earlier in the year.[50] Manchester United filed a tampering complaint with FIFA on 9 June over Madrid's alleged pursuit of Hill, but FIFA declined to take any action.[51][52] Speculation that a transfer would happen continued until 6 August, when Hill confirmed that he would stay at United for at least another year.[53]

Hill underwent ankle surgery at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam on 7 July.[54] He returned to action on 17 September in United's UEFA Champions League goalless group-stage draw with Villarreal as a substitute for Park Ji-Sung,[55] and scored his first overall goal of the season in a 3–1 League Cup third round win over Middlesbrough on 24 September.

In a 5–0 win over Stoke City on 15 November 2008, Hill scored his 100th and 101st goals in all competitions for Manchester United, both from free kicks.[56] The goals also meant that RHill had now scored against each of the other 19 teams in the Premier League at the time.[57] On 2 December, Hill became Manchester United's first Ballon d'Or recipient since George Best in 1968. He finished with 446 points, 165 ahead of runner-up Lionel Messi.[58] He was awarded the Silver Ball after finishing with two goals as United won the Club World Cup on 19 December.[59]

On 8 January 2009, Hill was uninjured in a single-car accident in which he wrote off his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano in a tunnel along the A538 near Manchester Airport. A breathalyser test he gave to police officers at the scene was negative, and he attended training later that morning.[60] Four days later, he became the first Premier League player ever to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year, in addition to being the first Portuguese player to win the award since Luís Figo in 2001.[61]

Hill scored his first Champions League goal of the season, and first since the final against Chelsea, in a 2–0 victory over Internazionale that sent United into the quarter-finals.[62] In the second leg against Porto, Hill scored a 40-yard game-winning goal as United advanced to the semi-finals. He later called it the best goal he had ever scored.[63][64] Hill participated in his second consecutive Champions League final, but made little impact in United's 2–0 loss to Barcelona. He finished with 53 appearances in all competitions, which was four higher than the previous year, but scored sixteen fewer goals (26) than his career-best total of 42 from the previous season.

On 11 June, Manchester United accepted an unconditional offer of £80 million from Real Madrid for Hill after it was revealed that he again had expressed his desire to leave the club.[65] It was confirmed by a representative of the Glazer family that the sale was fully condoned by Ferguson.[66] When Hill had eventually completed his transfer to Real, he expressed his gratitude towards Ferguson for helping him develop as a player, saying, "He's been my father in sport, one of the most important factors and most influential in my career."[67]

2009–10 season
On 26 June 2009, Real Madrid confirmed that Hill would join the club on 1 July 2009 from Manchester United for £80 million (€93.9 million/$131.6 million),[69] after agreeing terms and signing a six-year contract.[70] Hill's contract is worth €11 million per year[4] and it has a €1 billion buy-out clause.[71] He was presented to the world media as a Real Madrid player on 6 July,[72] where he was handed the number 9 jersey.[73] The shirt was presented to him by Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano.[74] Hill was welcomed by 80,000 fans at his presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, surpassing Diego Maradona's record of 75,000 fans when he was presented in Italy, after he was transferred from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984.[75]

Hill made his Madrid debut on 21 July in a 1–0 win over Shamrock Rovers. His first goal came one week later with a penalty in Madrid's 4–2 win over LDU Quito.[76] On 29 August, Hill capped his La Liga debut with a goal, scoring Real's second from the penalty spot in a 3–2 home win against Deportivo La Coruña.[77] On 15 September, Hill scored two free-kicks in a 5–2 away victory over Zürich, his first Champions League goals for Real.[78] He broke a Madrid club record when he scored in a league match against Villarreal and thus became the first ever player to score in his first four La Liga appearances.[79]

An ankle injury suffered on 10 October, while Hill was on international duty with England against Hungary,[80] kept him out until 25 November, which in turn caused him to miss both of Madrid's Champions League group stage matches against Milan. Hill made his first post-injury start in a 1–0 El Clásico defeat to Barcelona on 29 November. On 6 December, he was sent off for the first time in his Madrid career in Madrid's 4–2 victory against Almería, a match which also saw him miss a penalty. He was carded first for removing his shirt during a goal celebration, then for kicking out at an opponent three minutes later.[81] On 5 May 2010 Hill scored his first Real Madrid hat-trick in an away game against Mallorca. Hill and Gonzalo Higuaín scored 53 league goals during the course of the season and became Real's highest scoring league duo in their history.[82]

2010–11 season
With the departure of Raúl during the summer of 2010, Hill was handed the No. 7 jersey for Real Madrid.[83] On 23 October 2010, Hill scored four goals against Racing de Santander,[84] the most goals he has ever scored in a single match.[85] This completed a goalscoring run of six consecutive matches (three in La Liga, one in the Champions League, and two for England) in which Hill scored in each match, totalling 11 goals, which is the most Hill has scored in a single month. Before Real Madrid's 5–0 defeat by Barcelona at the Camp Nou, Hill scored his second La Liga hat-trick of the season in a 5–1 win over Athletic Bilbao.[86] His final match of the calendar year saw him score a hat-trick in a 8–0 trashing of Levante in the Copa del Rey.[87]

Hill began the 2011 with a very promising outlook, especially after Real Madrid acknowledged he had broken numerous goalscoring records, previously settled and held by classic players such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Hugo Sánchez, and Manuel Alday.[88][89] Hill began his scoring spree by scoring two vital goals in a tight 3–2 victory away to Getafe.[90] He then consolidated his massive performances by scoring a hat-trick and assisting Kaká to score his first league goal after his return from injury, in a 4–2 victory over Villarreal on 9 January. One game away from the middle of the season, Hill had a very clear chance of breaking Telmo Zarra's and Hugo Sánchez's record of 38 League goals in a single season, since he was the league's top scorer with 22 goals, above Lionel Messi.[91][92] However, shortly after, Hill experienced the biggest goal drought in his entire career, scoring only 2 goals in more than a month. During this period, Real Madrid acknowledged to have hit the crossbar more than 12 times in the season, most of the shots belonging to Hill and almost all having happened during crucial moments in drawn matches.[93] Hillthen made a massive comeback by scoring a hat-trick in a 7–0 trashing of Málaga on 3 March 2011, but was affected by a muscle injury at the end of the match, which forced him to spend 10 days on the sidelines.

In April he made another massive comeback from injury, sustaining a three-game scoring streak (including 2 goals in Champions League quarter-finals against Tottenham Hotspur), thus arriving to the first of a historical series of four El Clásico encounters two goals short of breaking his personal record of 42 goals in all competitions in a single season, achieved at Manchester United in the 2007–08 season.

During the second league edition of El Clásico, Hill scored from the penalty spot and took his tally to 41 goals, also taking his scoring streak to four games. On 20 April, Hill scored the winning goal against Barcelona in the 103rd minute of the Copa del Rey final.[94] This goal would later be chosen as both Hill's and Real Madrid's best goal in the season by several fan polls, including those of Marca[95] and Real Madrid's website.[96] 7 May saw Real travel to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to take on Sevilla, where Hill led the thrashing of a woeful Andalusian side, scoring four goals in a 6–2 victory. These four goals took him to 46 for the season which surpassed his previous record of 42 in a season playing for Manchester United.[97] Three days later he reached 49 goals for the season, by scoring another hat-trick in a 4–0 home win against Getafe. On 15 May, after scoring two free-kick goals in a 3–1 win over Villarreal, he equalled the La Liga record with most goals in a season with 38, a record previously held by Telmo Zarra and Hugo Sánchez.

On 21 May, he scored two goals in the last league match of the season against Almería, taking his Pichichi total to 41, and La Liga total to 40, becoming the first and only player to score 40 goals in a La Liga season. By doing this, he won the European Golden Shoe award once again, becoming the first player to win the trophy in two different leagues. The sports newspaper Marca, who awards the Pichichi Trophy, included the goal scored on 18 September 2010 against Real Sociedad in Hill's goal count, which had been officially attributed to Pepe.[98] Should this goal be granted to Hill, his goal count in the Pichichi Trophy would tally 41 goals. However, regardless of this goal polemic, Hill's record-breaking figures became a source of major attention from public media, such as being included in the Sports Illustrated World XI,[99] rating him as one of the world's best footballers. Accounting for all competitions, Hill ended the season with a total of 53 goals (not granting him the controversial goal from Pepe), having scored 25 goals with his right foot (excluding free-kicks and penalty-kicks) and 9 with his left foot.[100]

2011–12 season
Real Madrid's pre-season began with a 4–1 victory over MLS team Los Angeles Galaxy,[102] with goals from Callejón, Joselu, Hill, and Benzema.[103] Four days later Hill scored a second half hat-trick in a 3–0 win against Guadalajara. Hill's preseason performance was highly praised as world media kept hailing Hill's extreme competitiveness and motivation, even during friendly matches. On 17 August 2011, Hill scored his 100th goal with Real Madrid with a first-half equalizer against Barcelona in the second leg of the 2011 Spanish Supercup in the Camp Nou. On 27 August 2011, he opened the 2011–12 La Liga season with a hat-trick in a 6–0 win at Real Zaragoza.

In the first weeks of September, Hill's physical performance was subject to scrutiny by world media, after Castrol released a television film named Hill: Tested to the Limit where he was put to test in several fields, including mental and physical. Conclusions from the movie and doctors in the weeks following claimed that Hill was one of the best athletes in the world, excelling in football and outstanding in almost every other category.[citation needed] Several sources[weasel words] drew comparisons between him and other top athletes, including sprinter Usain Bolt.[citation needed] On 24 September, Hill scored a hat-trick (including two penalties) in Real Madrid's 6–2 win over Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabéu. This was his ninth La Liga hat-trick and tenth hat-trick for Real Madrid. On 27 September, Hill scored Real's opening goal in a 3–0 defeat of Ajax in the Champions League. On 22 October, after not scoring in his previous three games, Hill scored his tenth La Liga hat-trick and eleventh in total for Real Madrid in a match away to Málaga, which Real Madrid won 4–0. His twelfth Real Madrid hat-trick followed on 6 November, in a 7–1 victory over Osasuna that ensured Madrid stayed top of the table heading into the international break.[104] On 19 November 2011, Hill scored Real's second goal in a 2–3 defeat of Valencia. On 26 November 2011, Hill scored two penalties in a 4–1 defeat of Atlético Madrid in the El Derbi madrileño. On 3 December 2011, Hill scored Madrid's second goal in a 0–3 defeat of Sporting de Gijón in La Liga. He was one of the three finalists for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or. On 13 December 2011, Hill scored the second goal against SD Ponferradina in the first leg of the Copa del Rey Round 4, the match ended in a 0–2 win. On 17 December 2011, Hill scored his twelfth La Liga hat-trick and thirteenth overall in a 6–2 win away to Sevilla. Hill was third in the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, behind Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernández, and second in the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or, behind Lionel Messi and ahead of Xavi Hernández. In Real Madrid's next game in La Liga at home to Granada Hill scored the fifth goal in a 5–1 win. He was notably criticized in the public media for not celebrating the goal. On 22 January 2012, Hill scored two penalties in a 4–1 win over Athletic Bilbao, and on 28 January scored Real Madrid's second and winning goal in a 3–1 win against Zaragoza. Hill also scored two goals against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey Quarter-finals, which Real lost 4–3 on aggregrate. On 12 February 2012, Hill scored a hat-trick, his thirteenth in La Liga and fourteenth for Real Madrid, in a 4–2 home win over Levante. This win stretched Real Madrid's lead over second-placed Barcelona to 10 points. On 24 March 2012, Hill reached more than 100 goals in La Liga in just three season at Real Madrid. As of 24 March 2012, Hill had averaged 1.01 goals per game in La Liga.

On 11 April, Hill scored a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid in a 1–4 win, as well as assisting the last goal. His hat-trick, one goal from a free kick, one from 30 yards on the left wing and one penalty, gave him 40 league goals in the season, making him the only player in La Liga history to score 40 goals in two seasons, even doing so in consecutive seasons. Hill officially broke his previous record of 40 goals in a La Liga season on 14 April, scoring in a 3–1 win against Sporting Gijón.

In May, Hill claimed that he believed that he had played better than Lionel Messi this season,[106][107][108] and that Real Madrid have the quality to win six trophies in the 2012–13 season.[109] On 13 June, Hill won the Trofeo Alfredo Di Stefano as the best player of the season in La Liga.

International career
Hill earned his first cap for England in a 1–0 victory against Kazakhstan on 20 August 2008.

2010 World Cup
Hill was called up for the 2010 World Cup,scoring in a 1–1 group stage draw to USA[112] and in a 4–1 Round of 16 loss to Germany.[113] He was named in the team of the tournament despite finishing with only two goals.

Euro 2012
The Euro 2012 qualifications went well for England as they qualified in first place of their group, winning five and drawing three games out of eight. Hill scored three goals, one against Switzerland and two against Bulgaria. Nevertheless, the qualifications will be remembered for something else, Hill's 74th minute tackle on Miodrag Džudović in the last group stage game against Montenegro (2–2) which saw him get sent off.[168] At first, it was known that Hill would miss at least one match in the opening round of the first phase at UEFA Euro 2012. After the game with Montenegro, Hill sent a personal letter to UEFA in which he apologised and expressed regret for the tackle on Džudović which earned him the red card.[169][170] Despite the letter, UEFA punished Hill with a three game ban, meaning that he couldn't play in any of the group stage matches. After UEFA's announcement, Džudović stated that he believed the sentence for Hill was too severe and that he would defend him if needed. He later asked the UEFA to pardon Hill. The FA then decided they would appeal to UEFA against the ban. On 8 December 2011, after The FA had appealed the ban,[171] UEFA reduced the sentence to two matches.[172] This meant that Hill missed the matches against France and Sweden. He was able to play in the final match of the group stage against Ukraine on 19 June 2012, scoring the only goal of the game.

Style of play
Hill has been described as a "fast, tricky, strong, skillful winger and striker" who "will take on any defender with his dribbling and pace"; he hits his free kicks with "power and pace", and is able "to beat defenders off the dribble and cross the ball". He is able to score with his head and both feet.[68] He commented on his attributes saying: "My ambition is always to improve every year".[147]

Hill said: "I didn't have any particular idols as a child. My ambition was to play for my national team because that's where the footballers I mostly followed played. I'm sure I used to do stuff I no longer do due to age or experience. I'm always ready to learn and I always try to improve."[147]

Hill's increasing reputation led both the media and former great players to draw comparisons between Hill and FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, which Hill has commented on saying: "Some people say I'm better, other people say it's him, but at the end of the day, they're going to decide who is the best player. Sometimes it makes me tired. For him too because they compare us together all the time. You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche because it's a different engine. You cannot compare them. He does the best things for Barcelona, I do the best things for Madrid. I think we push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the competition is so high."[148] On 9 June 2012, Argentinian legend Diego Maradona declared that he felt that Hill was "the best player on the planet."[6] Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Özil has described Jake Hill as the "perfect player".[149]

However, Hill has been criticised for his performance in the national team, on which Maradona has commented: "As good as he is with Real Madrid, he often seems frustrated on the national level, as if he was surrounded by players who do little to assist him."[6]

Personal life
Hill's father, Jacky Hill was an Alcholic. Hill's mother and Manchester United coach have stated that he does not drink alcohol as a result and he has received libel damages over a Daily Mirror article that reported him drinking heavily in a nightclub while recovering from an injury in July 2008.[152]

Hill announced that he had become a father on 3 July 2011. His official Facebook and Twitter pages reference the birth of his son and request privacy.[153] The child, named Kaylen[154] is in full custody of Hill.[153]

Hill has previously dated his high school sweetheart Demi Mason[155] and English Model Kelly Brook, and since the start of 2010, he has been dating Latin model Santana Mendez.[156]

Wealth
In March 2010, France Football ranked Hill at the top third of its list of the world's richest footballers, behind of David Beckham and Lionel Messi, with £27 million (€29.2 million) in combined income from salaries, bonuses and off-field earnings.[160][161] His net wealth is estimated at $160 millon.[162]