No one was more surprised than Tyrone Mings when he picked up a newspaper and read about the latest in a long line of generous acts.
Mings revealed on social media that he had paid off his mother’s debts, which was picked up by a number of news outlets, much to the astonishment of the player himself.
He said: "I think it must be everyone’s dream to give their parents an easier life but it was definitely a bit naïve of me to put it on Instagram and not expect it to get so much press.
"I didn’t really see it as a news story but if I put it out there I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised when people take an interest, especially with the following I have after my previous acts.”
Mings has a string of good deeds behind him — helping to dish up Christmas dinners for the homeless, providing match tickets for fans who said they could not afford them and refunding supporters who bought replica shirts displaying his old squad number ahead of him inheriting the number three shirt vacated by Aaron Cresswell when he was sold to West Ham.
He added: "I didn’t think about these things when I was trying to make it in football. I was just thinking ‘I’d like to get there’. I still have goals and ambitions I want to fulfil but if me being in this position and giving something back is seen as a news story, fine.
"I don’t really see it as that. I see it as just doing something that anyone would do. If someone went to volunteer in a shop, a charity shop, and I did the same I know which one would make the news, which is a bit of a shame because I don’t think it should be classed as being any more important. It’s just what the press have to do I suppose.
"There are plenty of footballers who do things for charities and good causes. Danny Ings, for example, has his own disabled children’s charity and there’s a lot of that sort of thing going on that we don’t always read about.”
News of Mings’s generosity makes a pleasant change from the tabloid headlines prompted by the antics of several of his contemporaries, as he acknowledged himself.
He said: "You only have to pick up a newspaper and there’s usually something about a footballer doing something wrong. Whether that’s down to growing up in the spotlight or having too much money, I don’t know.
"Players are always going to make mistakes and if you give them too much too soon it’s kind of aiding that, isn’t it? It’s a tough one to call but who is going to turn down, say, 100,000 grand a week?
"I hope my background will help me to avoid stuff like that. From being in the position where I was working full-time as a mortgage broker and playing non-league football, I’m earning a bit more money now and I’ve worked in financial services, which should also help.
"Plus, I have plenty of people very close to me who will always keep me very grounded so I haven’t got anything to worry about there.”