Bolton football fans raise £6k in one day for former Man U player

Callum Gribbin, a former Manchester United player of 11 years, now plays for non-league FC United.

But the 24-year-old has been injured with a severe knee injury that could ruin his career.

A Bolton fan, Tim Browning, from Westhoughton, initially set up a Go Fund Me page to help pay for loss of income for the footballer, who would be unable to play and walk properly for some time.

Since then, the Professional Footballers' Association agreed to pay 50 percent of the £8000 to pay for the operation that Callum needed urgently in order to continue with his career or the operation would be delayed.

Callum Gribbin (Image: Mark Lee)

Tim said: “I'm so happy because the injury is not just the physical one but also the mental health aspects of the situation and Callum has amazing talent, it would be a real shame for him not to be able to share it.

“I let him know that we got to £6000 and he was delighted because it was a big burden and he just didn't have that sort of money.”

Tim and other fans shared the fundraiser on the FC United Facebook page with a message from the team.

A spokesman for the club said at the time: “We've done it before, and appreciate that times are hard for everyone, but if you can help by chipping in anything you can afford, no matter how small, it would help Callum through an incredibly tough period in his life - he wouldn't ask for this support himself - but he needs it more than ever.”

The fundraiser has reached £8,000, meaning Callum can now have the operation as soon as possible and get back to football.

Tim Browning (Image: Tim Browning)

Donations to help with income costs for Callum can still be made on the page.

The young player signed for Sheffield United for a year in 2019 then moved to Barrow in 2020.

In 2021, Callum joined Radcliffe FC before finally joining FC United.