The grandfather of Liverpool youth winger Harry Wilson has won £125,000 after betting that the teenager would play for Wales.
AssociatedHarry Wilson became the youngest player to represent Wales when he made his debut against Belgium.
Peter Edwards made the 50 pound bet — at odds of 2,500-1 — at a bookmakers in Wrexham when his grandson was 18 months old.
And it came off when Wilson, who has yet to play for Liverpool’s first team, appeared as an 87th-minute substitute for Wales as they drew 1-1 with Belgium in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
At 16 years and 207 days old, the winger became the youngest player in Wales’ history, beating by 108 days the previous record — held by Real Madrid’s attacking midfielder Gareth Bale.
Edwards, an electrical contractor who lives in the North Wales village of Corwen with his wife Dorothy, said he planned to retire immediately as a result of his winnings.
He told the Daily Mirror: “I retired immediately. I told my manager yesterday that if Harry plays I wouldn’t be coming back.
“I’ve retired one year early. I have come home now and will not be going back. Not bad for a daft bet.”
Edwards said that he spotted his grandson’s football potential early.
“He used to chase the ball around the front room on his hands and knees even before he could walk — that’s what gave me the idea,” he added.
“I went into William Hill in Wrexham and asked them how I go about it. I had no idea how to do it and the manageress put me in touch with London.
“I was shattered because I had to wait for 85, 86 minutes before he came on and I was panicking because they’d already substituted twice, so I thought he wasn’t going to make it.
“But when he came on I had another glass of wine. [I was] a proud granddad first for sure.
“I told my wife at halftime that my pulse was 106 — I didn’t know whether that was good or bad.”
The 62-year-old plans to use some of his winnings to help Wilson, pointing out that — as an academy player — his earnings are still modest and his travel costs high.
He said: “This means I will be able to help Harry out. You can be quite sure that he will get a share of it.”
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