Norman Whiteside, (60) was a former football player for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He garnered many accolades including the record holder for the youngest player to play at the world cup. Following his retirement at the age of 26, he changed his career path and became a podiatrist.
Aside from this, the former midfielder has been married twice to Julie Whiteside and Denise Whitside, his current wife. The Belfast native and Julie share three children, Della, Blaine, and Clodagh.
Where Is Norman Whiteside Today?
Whiteside is now a podiatrist, a doctor who specializes in the toes, ankles, and hips of athletes. He enrolled and graduated from the University of Salford where he earned his medical degree.
Shortly after, he worked for Northwich Victoria between 1991 and 1992 as an assistant but had to leave due to the hectic traveling routine. He went into private practice where he runs his Manchester-based clinic.
Prior to his retirement in the early 90s due to a knee injury, Whiteside played for the Manchester team for seven years and was with Everton for two years.
His international career started on a good footing when he made his debut for Northern Ireland at the 1982 World Cup. At the time, he was only 17 years and 41 days. Interestingly his appearance broke Pele’s record of being the youngest player to appear at the world cup.
Moving forward, he made 278 league and cup appearances and scored 68 goals. However, most of his career was marked by injuries that started in his teenage years and this would affect his pace.
At the age of 26, doctors told him that his ankle and knee injuries would make him use a wheelchair at the age of 35 to 40 if he didn’t stop playing. Soon after, he retired. He took his retirement in stride and decided to follow his passion by taking up a career closely linked to the health challenges of players.
The former Northern Ireland player provides services to many clubs in the UK while running his clinic which is located in Manchester.
He is Also a Football Commentator for Radio And TV
After taking a new career direction in medicine, Whiteside is not only taking care of the health challenges of players, he is still a punditt that brings his experience to commentaries.
He is an after-dinner speaker and analyst. This has kept him close to his passion for football years after he left the field.
Let’s Meet Norman Whiteside’s Wives
The former football player has been married to two different women.
Julie Whiteside
She is the first wife of Norman Whiteside. The pair first met when he was 16 while she was 20, however, their age was not a problem as their religious beliefs. While Whiteside is a protestant, Julie was a Catholic making their union a high scandal at the time, especially in his native Skankill.
Nonetheless, they got married on October 4, 1987. They remained together for many years during which they welcomed three children.
In 2001, their marriage ended and they parted ways. As it is the reason for their divorce is unclear.
Denise Whiteside
Norman Whiteside’s second marriage is to Dennis Whiteside. The details about their marriage are vague. However, she has proven to be a supportive wife to the former player.
Going through her social media posts on her handle @Mrs. Dee Whiteside, she uploads events that celebrate her husband.
She made the news in 2020 when she defended her husband’s record of being the youngest Manchester player to reach 200 games. Per the sun, Marcus Rashford made a tweet about breaking the record to become the third youngest player to make 200 appearances. It turned out that, Whiteside’s record was omitted, thus, Denise’s outrage.
While reacting to the callout, the team’s official handler and editor, Mark Froggart apologized for the mistake and promised to change it.
With regard to their marriage, Whiteside and Denise do not have any children together.
See Also: 20 Top Midfielders To Watch Out For At Qatar World Cup 2022
The Former Manchester Forward Turned Doctor Has Three Children
As mentioned earlier, Norman and his first wife welcomed three children during their marriage. Among Norman Whitehead’s children, Della Beau, Blaine Bevon, and Clodagh Shannon Whiteside, two are girls while Blaine is his only son.
Unlike their father, they maintain a very private life that has made it difficult to trace what they are up to. Norman gave a little snippet into his relationship with his children in a 2018 tweet celebrating Clodagh on her 21st birthday.
Norman Clodagh may have been a child prodigy and had an early football start and held records such as the youngest football player to play at the world cup, however, this record may one day be broken if a younger player represents a national team. Away from this, he has enjoyed the support of his family and three children.
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