Terry Byrne
| Terry Byrne | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 June 1966 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Football manager |
| Known for | David Beckham's personal manager 2003–2008 |
Terry Byrne (born 4 June 1966) is an English businessman and a director of various companies connected to football that are active in the United Kingdom and the United States. Since 2010, he has been the vice-chairman of the revived New York Cosmos, the soccer club hoping to gain entry into Major League Soccer during the next expansion window.
Byrne is best known for his business relationship and close friendship with the footballer David Beckham, spending years as the his personal manager and business adviser.
Born in London to a mother who worked as a hairdresser and did aromatherapy, Byrne was a dedicated Chelsea F.C. fan growing up, with dreams of becoming a professional footballer. However, he only played as far as youth football at the lower-league clubs Leyton Orient F.C. and Cambridge United F.C..
Following a period working as a cab driver in London, Byrne decided to try sports massage after seeing a 'help wanted' advertisement placed by Chelsea's team physiotherapist at one of the matches. Byrne was not hired, but went on to complete a one-year course at the London School of Sports Massage.
In summer 1992, Byrne was hired as part-time sports masseur with Chelsea's backroom medical staff, helping out the team physiotherapist on match days. Ian Porterfield was the club's manager at the time. In February 1993, roughly six months into Byrne's time with the club, Porterfield was replaced by David Webb who was in turn dismissed in summer 1993 to make way for Glenn Hoddle.
Arriving at the London club from AS Monaco where the practice of having several full-time masseurs was common, Hoddle wanted to implement the same at Chelsea. Byrne seemed the obvious choice for the role. However, wanting to cut costs, the club chairman Ken Bates would not pay two separate salaries for a kit manager and a sports masseur, so Byrne became both for a single annual salary of £12,000. Byrne thus became the first full-time masseur in English football. He held the two roles simultaneously under Hoddle for two years, before deciding to devote himself to physiotherapy by enrolling in the Football Association sponsored two-year course for sports injuries, while still working as a masseur at Chelsea where he eventually became the team's assistant physiotherapist.
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