Manchester City and England midfielder, Kalvin Philips, has spoken up on how he wants to help his father out of jail.
Speaking to Daily Mail, Kalvin Philips revealed his father, Mark, is serving a 12-year prison sentence at HM Prison Wealstun just few kilometers away from their family home at Leeds.
The Manchester City midfielder opened up on how he tried as a young child to be close to his Dad while he was still behind bars at MH Prison Wealstun. He revealed how he made those visits as frequent as possible to keep tabs on Mark. However, he could not continue to pay regular visit as he grew into his career.
After breaking into Leeds United first team in 2014, Philips revealed his schedules became tighter which did not allow him to pay regular visit to Mark.
Everyday, he even ended up driving pass the MH Prison Wealstun where Mark is being jailed and could not stop by for a visit. However, they have tried to keep in touch through phone conversions.
The 27-year-old former Leeds player said it has been over six years since he last visited the Prison before he made a recent visit to Mark.
According to him, Mark looks older and he felt he shouldn’t have been that far away from him for that number of years.
“I think it was six years since I’d last seen him”, Kalvin Philips said.
“It was literally like I’d never been away from him to be honest. He looked a bit older and stuff like that but it was like the last time I saw him. We had a laugh, talked about football, saying how proud he was.”
According to reports, Kalvin Philips’ father, Mark, always clashed with local security agencies for a series of crimes bordering on drugs.
He was arrested several times and released after bail before he was finally sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in 2013.
While Mark was in and out of prison until his final incarceration, Kalvin Philips was said to be a young teenager and was taken care of by his mother, Lindsay Crosby.
Life was tough for the family without a father figure who was languishing in prison but Philips, who is now playing for the biggest club in the Premier League, has admitted he still wants to help his Dad when he is out of prison, especially having Mark watch him play football on the stands as a free man.
“Obviously I mentioned about looking after him”, he said.
“To make sure he is secure, so he doesn’t go straight back into prison like he has in the past. He could’ve asked me for anything: for a car, a house, anything.
“He said all he wants is to be able to travel around the world and watch me play football. That’s obviously something I can help with.”
Kalvin Philips’ Manchester City struggles
Behind the gloss of Manchester City’s treble winning campaign last season, Kalvin Philips is among the few set of players who are not faring well under Pep Guardiola.
After joining Manchester City for £40m from Leeds United, Kalvin Philips stint with Manchester City has been marred with injuries and fitness concerns.
In all competitions, Kalvin Philips made 26 appearances with only two starts.
Despite a nightmare debut season with Manchester City, Kalvin Philips made England 2022 World Cup squad and starred for the Three Lions.
However, on his return from World Cup, Pep Guardiola lambasted the player for being overweight and dropped him from the team’s lineup.
Philips was made to undergo individual training session to get back to shape but still ended up on the bench playing second fiddle to Rodri.
With the 2023/24 season set to kick off, the out-of-favor Premier League star will hope to breath life back into his career.
