Footballer James Maddison's tattoo tribute to cancer victim who stole his heart
Leicester City and England star James Maddison got the poignant inking to Sophie Taylor, from Norwich, on his wrist after the five-year-old lost her courageous bone cancer battle
Posted Sunday, January 31, 2021 by Dailystar.co.uk
Sophie Taylor, five, from Norwich with James Maddison, Leicester City footballer
Premier League star James Maddison has revealed he’s dedicated a tattoo to the young cancer victim who stole his heart.
The Leicester City and England midfielder forged a strong bond with brave bone cancer sufferer Sophie Taylor while he was at Norwich City.
She lost her fight for life two years ago aged five and now James has revealed he’s had her name inked on his wrist in tribute to her memory.
He’s devoted part of his home to photographs and keepsakes of the courageous girl – and on Tuesday night he celebrated a strike against Chelsea by signalling to the heavens.
James, 24, uploaded snaps and video of him with Sophie to social media this week and wrote: “Not a day goes by where I don’t think about you superstar. 2 years ago today heaven gained a beautiful, intelligent and courageous angel in@superstrongsophie.”
The poignant inking to Sophie
And he showed a snap of his tattooed tribute to Sophie, from Norwich.
A message on Sophie’s Instagram account read: “Today is the 2nd anniversary of me becoming an angel and we are pleased to say that my Sophie’s Sparkle fund is officially registered with the Norfolk Community Foundation.
“When I passed away Mum and Dad set up a donation page for a project to be done in my memory. That project is Sophie’s Sparkle.
“The aims of this fund are currently to support research and improvements into bone cancer treatment, support children and families affected by childhood cancer and support existing charities.
“Thank you so much to everyone that has donated so far to enable Sophie’s Sparkle to be established. We have already been able to help some local families and donated to support charities during the pandemic and hope to have more to come.
“We hope we are doing you proud Sophie. We miss and love you so much xx”
In March 2019, soon after her death, James scored from a free-kick in a 2-1 win at Burnley and dedicated the goal to her.
He revealed he was wearing a top saying “RIP Sophie I Love You”, but was shown a yellow card.
Sophie met the star in April 2018 when she was a Norwich City mascot and they forged an instant connection which continued after his £20 million move to the Foxes with the girl being treated to VIP visits to games.
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