Who is Cole Palmer? Chelsea and England star’s family, celebration and salary
The 21-year-old is the breakout star of this season's Premier League.
There is no question that Chelsea’s Cole Palmer has been the breakout star of English football this season.
While it’s been mostly doom and gloom at Stamford Bridge, Palmer has been a rare shining light since his £40million move from Manchester City on deadline day last summer.
The 21-year-old has scored 23 goals and made 13 assists in just 38 appearances for the Blues so far, and is now leading the Premier League Golden Boot race after finding the back of the net four times in the 6-0 victory over Everton on Monday night.
While always heralded as a budding talent at City, few could have predicted the meteoric rise he has enjoyed over the past few months, so what do we know about the origins of one of England’s best and brightest footballers?
Cole Palmer’s family and supportive parents
Palmer was born in 2002 in Wythenshawe, Manchester to Marie and Jermaine and has two older sisters. But it may be surprising to learn that his family have Caribbean heritage.
His father’s side of the family hail from the small dual island of Saint Kitts and Nevis, though with their national team currently ranked 147th in the world there’s no need to fear about Palmer switching allegiance.
Speaking about his family’s roots, Palmer said: ‘My dad’s family is from St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. He hates going out in the cold. But we would do that [football practice] every single day whatever the weather.
‘That’s why I got the St Kitts flag on my boots, as a little tribute to him and his family.’
Fans first noticed the flag when a video of the player rapping went viral on his sister Hallie’s Tik Tok account.
Jermaine also played football himself – albeit at Sunday League level, but even that would have a profound effect on Cole: ‘He used to sit me down on the bag of balls on the sidelines, wrapped in one of his rain jackets. I would just take it all in – the crunching tackles, the shouting, the arguing.
‘Dad doesn’t play anymore since he done his knee, and I don’t really remember any specific games, but he’ll tell you how good he was!
‘He fixes dental equipment as his real job, but to listen to him you’d think he’d had a 20-year career in the Premier League!’
Childhood and rise to football stardom
Scouted by Manchester City at the age of eight, Palmer would spend a decade in the Citizens’ academy before making his senior debut under Pep Guardiola in 2020.
But growing up, the attacking midfielder was actually a supporter of arch-rivals Manchester United, with their talisman Wayne Rooney his idol: ‘What a player. When I was growing up I used to watch all the football and the one that sticks in my mind is Rooney.
‘Ever since I was a little kid he has been my footballing hero.’
Grandfather Sterry Cole added: ‘When he first joined City, he used to wear a United shirt or some sort of United garment under his sky-blue shirt.
‘He was a United fan but City offered the better set-up, they had the better training facilities and were able to better nurture his talent.’
Palmer would make 41 appearances for his boyhood club, but fierce competition meant most of these were off the bench, though he clocked enough minutes to receive medals for City’s historic treble win last season.
He started off the current campaign by scoring in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup and looked to have finally arrived for the Citizens, but after Guardiola refused to guarantee him game time he made the bold and difficult choice to leave.
Cole Palmer’s celebration
With just six goals in three years for City, Palmer was scarcely able to show off his trademark celebration at the Etihad, but it’s become a regular sight in West London.
Every time he hits the back of the net, he breaks out the ‘shivering’ celebration – rubbing his arms and puffing out his cheeks, earning him the nickname ‘Cold Palmer’.
But as it turns out, the England star actually pinched it off friend and former City academy teammate Morgan Rogers.
After debuting the celebration against Luton in December, Palmer revealed: ‘My boy Morgs did one for Middlesbrough [earlier that week], so I told him I’d do it too if I scored.’
With Rogers now playing in the Premier League with Aston Villa, it’s entirely possibly we’ll see both players ‘shivering’ in the same match at some stage in the future.
Cole Palmer’s salary
Palmer currently earns £80,000-a-week at Chelsea on a contract that runs until 2030. If he sees it out he’ll have earned just over £29m.
However, recent reports claim that the Blues will look to offer their talisman a new deal on improved wages as a reward for his efforts this season.
It is said that he own several expensive cars including a £190,000 Lamborghini Urus, a £71,000 BMW i4, a £30,000 Mercedes A-Class, and a far more modest VW Polo.
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