Prince George ‘could play for England’ after dad William backs him for Aston Villa

Bookies are taking bets on Prince George one day playing for England after his Euro 2020 appearances in the stands.

The Cambridges are known to be quite the footie-mad family, with George’s dad Prince William president of the Football Association and a known Aston Villa fan.

Prince George, who celebrates his eighth birthday today, was in the stands with his mum and dad Prince William and Kate Middleton at Wembley to see England’s heartbreaking loss on penalties to Italy in the final of Euro 2020, and he also watched the game against Germany.

The little royal cheered throughout the game and is obviously a big football fan, with photos taken by mum Kate released to celebrate his sixth birthday showing him in his Three Lions top.

George was also taken to his first football game by his dad in October 2019 – when William’s beloved Aston Villa beat Norwich City 5-1.

And even George’s dad has backed him to one day play for his favourite club – and break records while he’s at it.

Speaking on That Peter Crouch’s podcast released on the BBC last July, The Duke of Cambridge said George could play up front for Villa and still perform his duties as a Prince.

Co-host Chris Stark asked the Duke: “What if he got really good at football? Can he do the job and be up front for Villa?”

Prince William replied: “Yeah – definitely…I reckon he could be their all time goalscorer – I can see no reason why not.”

He’d have a lot of goals to score in order to break the record, which was set by Billy Walker who scored 244 goals for the club between 1919 and 1933.

And the tall order is certainly reflected in the odds bookies are offering the George to become the first royal to turn out for the Three Lions.

According to Ladbrokes, George is 500/1 to play for England one day, and 1000/1 to become Villa’s all-time top scorer.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “Prince George clearly loves his footy but he’s some way off bringing it home for England if the latest odds are anything to go by!”

He would of course be able to ask for advice from former England rugby player Mike Tindall, whose wife Zara is George’s godmother and Prince William’s cousin.

George was seen celebrating Luke Shaw’s opener in the Euro 2020 final as he beamed with joy at his parents.

But come the final whistle, he summed up the emotion of every football fan as England suffered penalty shootout heartbreak as that life-affirming smile was replaced by a glum look of disappointment.

George and his dad Prince William wore matching suits for the occasion – although there were claims that Kate Middleton had disagreed with the outfit choice for their son.

An expert has since said that Prince George may be kept “out of a limelight” after a barrage of social media abuse was aimed at him.

Robert Jobson, who co-authored Diana: Closely Guarded Secret, told Sunrise TV show in Australia that the young prince was mocked for wearing a suit and tie.

Mr Jobson said: “With George, he got quite a lot of social media attention.

“Some were critical about him wearing a shirt and tie like his dad which I thought was very harsh.

“He has been very popular but I think they are going to try and keep him out of the limelight a little bit.

“They are very conscious of that. The pictures were great with his dad when he was celebrating for that all too brief moment.”