03/09/2026
When Jermain Defoe was in his second season at Sunderland, the club’s press officer Louise Wanless told him there was a young boy who wanted to meet him.
Bradley Lowery was five years old, had neuroblastoma and Defoe was his favourite player.
Defoe had met hundreds of young mascots during his career and expected Bradley to be shy and quiet around the players.
Instead, Bradley walked into the Sunderland changing room, ran straight over to Defoe, jumped on his lap and gave him a cuddle.
“The first moment I met him I could not believe he was the young kid who was ill because he ran over to me.”
“His energy in the changing rooms, bossing the other kids about, a great character.”
“We had an instant connection.”
“It’s hard to explain but it was different, it was magical.”
Afterwards, Defoe asked Louise to put him in contact with Bradley’s family so he could visit him in hospital.
At first he went with some of the other Sunderland players. Before long, he was going back on his own.
“I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.”
Bradley became part of Defoe’s life at Sunderland. He would walk out with him before games and whenever he spotted the cameras, he would stop and do his little salute.
By March 2017, Defoe had been recalled to the England squad for the first time in more than three years.
England were playing Lithuania at Wembley and Bradley was there as a mascot.
Joe Hart was captain, but in the tunnel he swapped places with Defoe so Bradley could walk out alongside his best friend at the front of the England team.
Bradley covered his ears as they came out to the noise at Wembley.
Twenty-one minutes later, Defoe scored.
Defoe spoke to his family every day, visited him at home and in hospital and became one of the people Bradley wanted around when he was struggling.
On one visit, Bradley wanted Defoe to get into bed beside him so they could lie there together and have a cuddle.
As Bradley became weaker, those visits became harder.
“It was tough to see him suffer like that.”
By the summer, Defoe had left Sunderland and signed for Bournemouth.
At his unveiling in July 2017, he was asked about Bradley.
“It has been difficult. I have kept this in for so long.”
“I have tried to be strong for my family and his family but I don’t know how to put into words how I feel.”
Defoe had been with Bradley only a few days earlier.
By then, he knew there was very little time left.
“There is not a day that goes past where I do not wake up in the morning and check my phone or think about little Bradley because his love is genuine and I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me.”
Bradley sadly passed away on the 7th of July 2017, aged six.
The following day, Defoe wrote a message to the boy who had started as a Sunderland mascot and ended up becoming his best friend.
“Goodbye my friend, gonna miss you lots.”
“I’ll never ever forget the way you looked at me for the first time, the genuine love in those cute eyes.”
“Your courage and bravery will continue to inspire me for the rest of my life.”
Years later, Defoe still spoke about how much those few months with Bradley had changed him.
“He taught me to appreciate life and the people around me so much more.”
“He changed me, my whole perspective.”
