Headline scores memoir of footballer Adebayo Akinfenwa

Headline has acquired the memoir of football striker Adebayo Akinfenwa, better known to fans by his nickname The Beast.

Senior commissioning editor Richard Roper acquired world rights to the book, entitled The Beast, from Duncan Ross at the Wasserman Media Group. 

Akinfenwa’s first book will chart his life and career to date, from being told he would never make it as a professional footballer, to facing racial abuse at his first club in Lithuania, to being a fan favourite at a string of British clubs, to play-off glory with AFC Wimbledon and scoring against his boyhood heroes Liverpool in the FA Cup.

Akinfenwa was released by AFC Wimbledon after its fourth tier play-off in May 2016, in which he scored a penalty helping the club to victory over Plymouth. He now plays for League Two’s Wycombe Wanderers. 

He has scored over 180 goals in nearly 600 appearances for clubs in Lithuania, Wales and England and, according to the FIFA video game series, he is the strongest professional footballer in the world.

Roper said: “There is reason why Adebayo is an absolute fan favourite at every club he’s played for. He has an amazing never-give-up attitude and his positivity is infectious. His first book will be a must for the thousands of fans who want to know how the man became The Beast.”

The title is scheduled for publication in November 2017.