Former Liverpool and Tottenham defender Neil “Razor” Ruddock took to Twitter to let the fans know about his successful gastric sleeve surgery which has resulted in Ruddock getting rid of nearly 7 stone (45 kg) of weight, making him look completely unrecognizable.
In a recent interview, the Premier League veteran let people know about his weight loss journey. The former Liverpool man, who is 54 at the moment, weighed over 27 stones (171 kg) just a couple of years ago during the lockdown. He admitted that his eating and drinking habits had spiraled out of control, resulting in a tragically quick weight gain.
He further explained that his meeting with reality TV star James Argent was what inspired him to go ahead with the gastric sleeve surgery. “Arg”, as he’s known as, himself lost 14 stones of weight in just over an year. Neil met Argent during a charity football match back in 2021 and that was when he came to learn about the effects of this surgery.
Neil “Razor” Ruddock (left) and James Argent (right)
At one point, his condition worsened so much that he couldn’t even do basic physiotherapy sessions properly. This was due to the amount of weight he had gained thanks to his unhealthy stress-eating habits. The former Liverpool man explained that these habits were so bad that at a point, he’d chunk on unhealthy food whenever he found himself sad or frustrated or even happy.
Neil Ruddock before his weight loss transformation
However, after finally taking up the aforementioned surgery, Ruddock seems to be in a much better condition. He can now finally do the gym workouts and he’s in a much better state mentally.
The fans have been caught by surprise after Neil’s amazing transformation. Many fans took to Twitter to share their reactions. Here are some of the tweets.
The former defender is also confident that he’s going to lose more weight to achieve an even better shape. Though far from James Argent, Ruddock hopes to catch up with his celebrity friend soon.
In his playing days, Ruddock was an incredible defender who spent the majority of his career in two clubs, Liverpool and Southampton, playing over a hundred games for both clubs. He was also a part of many other English clubs, like the likes of Tottenham Hotspurs and West Ham United. A center back known for his physicality and bravado, Neil Ruddock was voted the 17th “hardest footballer of all time.”
Ruddock in the Liverpool shirt, back in his playing days
Simon Jordan, the former owner of Crystal Palace F.C., jokingly replied to Ruddock’s tweet, stating, “there was a point when wherever you sat in the room, Neil was sitting next to you.”
Jordan was the owner of Crystal Palace when Neil joined the club for a brief stint back in 2000. Many more footballing personalities have reacted to this incredible transformation, with the likes of Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler, former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour and the former Celtic striker John Hartson congratulating the former English center back for his weight loss journey.
I have to say this is brilliant to see Neil in this nick .
There was a point when, wherever you sat in a room Neil was sitting next to you .
Good to see all that money I spent on a dietician at #cpfc for him , finally paid of 😜
Now at 54, Ruddock seems to be in the best shape of his life. He’s transformed himself into a television personality and regularly appears on a variety of TV shows. He also appeared on “Celebrity MasterChef”, a famous cooking show back in 2019, where he ended up as the runner-up.
