I was treated like the Osama Bin Laden of football, Kevin Keegan threatened to pull out my gold tooth if I was late

6 months ago 41

NEWCASTLE legend Kevin Keegan wouldn’t put up with Nile Ranger’s shenanigans at St James’ Park.

Ranger‘s nomadic career saw him spend five years on the Magpies’ books, which included two loan stints at Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday.

The former striker joined the Toon in 2008 at the age of 17 and was immediately added to their youth ranks at a time when Keegan returned at the helm of his beloved club.

The now 32-year-old, though, did brush shoulders with the senior squad and would at times be summoned to meetings with the likes of Michael Owen, Alan Smith and Nicky Butt.

However, the forward was late for one team meeting and met the wrath of the manager as well as his team-mates.

Keegan didn’t hold back.

Ranger alleges the gaffer warned him that next time he would pull out his gold tooth so that he could sell it to make ends meet as he would also rip up his contract.

This wasn’t the only time Ranger has been in trouble throughout his turbulent 15-year career.

The ex-England Under-19 international played in the top five divisions, served two jail terms, battled a gambling addiction and was sacked by numerous clubs because of disciplinary issues.

The Londoner previously claimed he was treated like the “Osama bin Laden of football”.

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But now the ex-Southampton prospect is filled with regret as he insists with more discipline, better nutrition and right amount of sleep he would have been like Manchester City star Erling Haaland.

Ranger told The Athletic: “There needs to be a movie on my life, because it’s a real one, it’s an interesting one. “I have players coming to me saying, ‘What happened? What’s wrong with you? With your talent, what are you doing?’.

“I made my bed and now I have to lie in it. I feel frustrated. I know what I can do but it’s deeper than that because I’ve had so many chances. I didn’t take in the advice. I should be minimum Championship right now. I shouldn’t be having problems but I didn’t listen.

“If I added nutrition to my game and behaviour, I’m Haaland. But I didn’t want to listen. I thought I knew it all. Every club I’ve had, even as an adult, my mum has had to come in — because they respect her — to see if it could work as a last throw of the dice.

“She is my life coach, she’s probably disappointed deep down I didn’t really go higher… but she always says, ‘Listen, we had a blast, no matter what’.

“I missed a meeting in a hotel, I came down, some of the players were tutting. Keegan said, ‘If you are ever late again, I will pull your gold tooth out and you are going to go sell that. You will never have a contract, I will fine you your wages — this is your last time’.

“I was like, ‘F*****g hell’. I was s******g it. So I wasn’t late again. I was on the bench against Arsenal, I was looking at Robin van Persie, Michael Owen, I was like, ‘Oh my God’. It was like a dream.

“I don’t know why trouble kept coming to me. They eventually said, ‘If you’re late again, we don’t have to pay you anything. We suggest you take this mutual consent and go’.

“There was an issue with the fans, they started booing in a match against Reading and I said, ‘Why are you booing us? You’re supposed to be the 12th man’, and that’s when True Geordie blasted me and it went viral.”

Ranger left Newcastle in 2013 at the age of 22 and his career never blossomed.