{"id":474360,"date":"2026-02-14T11:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T11:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/474360\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T11:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T11:20:12","slug":"luke-matheson-is-not-your-typical-footballer-an-interview-on-life-legacies-and-losing-ethan-mcleod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/474360\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke Matheson is not your typical footballer. An interview on life, legacies, and losing Ethan McLeod"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Luke Matheson takes a seat in the same Manchester cafe where we met six months ago, and I think about how difficult this conversation is going to be at times, my mind goes back to an answer he gave at the end of our interview in August.<\/p>\n

Football, Matheson had come to realise, isn\u2019t the be-all and end-all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the 17-year-old me might have viewed as success isn\u2019t what the 22-year-old me views as success,\u201d Matheson said a month after signing for non-League Macclesfield, who play in the National League North, in English football\u2019s sixth tier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I was so involved in football that it almost defined who I was when I was 17 or 18. Whereas now, it\u2019s a massive part of who I am, but it doesn\u2019t define what I am.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuccess for me isn\u2019t getting back to the EFL (English Football League). Yes, that\u2019s what I want to do and that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to strive to do. Hopefully, it\u2019s with Macclesfield and we go all the way. But it\u2019s not the case that I\u2019ve failed as a footballer if I don\u2019t get back to that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuccess for me might be becoming a father. I want to make an impact in the Macclesfield community. I want to set up a charity. I have all these things I want to do outside of football, so it\u2019s not a case of in five, 10 years, I have this concrete plan and if it doesn\u2019t come to fruition, I\u2019ve failed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up fast around the chaotic world of professional football and experiencing some wild highs and lows along the way has helped shape that sense of perspective.<\/p>\n

At the age of 15, Matheson was playing first-team football for League One Rochdale, competing on the same pitch as men but not old enough to get changed in the same dressing room. The following season, he was scoring against Manchester United at Old Trafford one minute and getting the bus to school the next<\/a>. Four months later, he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in a deal worth \u00a31million. Aged 17, Matheson was an England Under-18 international and \u201cliving the dream\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n (Robbie Jay Barratt \u2013 AMA\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But then it started to unravel.<\/p>\n

Lost in that strange hinterland of under-23 football and not helped by serious injuries, Matheson\u2019s career stalled at Wolves. In between loan spells at Rochdale, Ipswich Town, Scunthorpe United, and in Scotland with Hamilton Academical, he rarely got close to the Wolves first team and was released in the summer of 2023 without making a senior appearance for the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough because I was a kid \u2013 I passed my driving test the day before I joined Wolves,\u201d Matheson says, recalling how his dad had to drive his car to Wolverhampton when he signed because he didn\u2019t feel ready to go on the motorway.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, things didn\u2019t work out. I had a lot of injuries \u2013 I tore my hamstring off the bone, I did my LCL (lateral collateral ligament on the outside of the knee), two of my three-and-a-bit seasons there, I had season-ending injuries. Did I perform at the level I wanted to? Probably not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Measured and erudite, there is no trace of bitterness or anger in Matheson\u2019s voice when he reflects on that chapter of his career. But there is confusion \u2014 confusion as to why Wolves signed him in the first place. \u201cYou do think, was this\u2026 not a punt, but was it thought through?\u201d<\/p>\n

At times, Matheson tied himself in knots thinking about how he had traded first-team football in League One for being an under-23 player in the Premier League.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a really weird dynamic for me to wrap my head around because, on the one hand, you\u2019re the one who\u2019s played the most professional games, and on the other hand, you\u2019re the newcomer and a kid who\u2019s never experienced this (under-23 football), so are you actually better than anyone here?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a constant internal battle of what is actually true, and it has this negative effect on you where it can spiral into this confidence issue, like imposter syndrome: \u2018Do I actually belong here?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n (Jack Thomas \u2013 WWFC\/Wolves via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In August, we sat down to discuss all of that and more, only for Matheson to suffer a bad hamstring injury a few days later while playing for Macclesfield, sidelining him for three months and prompting us to agree to revisit the interview when he was back playing.<\/p>\n

Matheson returned against South Shields in the FA Trophy (the non-League equivalent of the FA Cup) in December. His next game, away at Bedford Town in the league three days later, turned into a harrowing experience.<\/p>\n

It was December 16, a Tuesday night, and the Macclesfield team bus was making the 150-mile trip back from Bedford to the north west after a 2-1 victory. The traffic on the M1 motorway had come to a total standstill.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s checking updates (on their phones), they\u2019re saying it\u2019s going to be at least four o\u2019clock in the morning until we\u2019re moving,\u201d Matheson says. \u201cIt gets to four, then it just keeps going up. We have absolutely no idea what\u2019s gone on. We just assume it\u2019s something serious.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we drive past (the accident), it\u2019s five o\u2019clock, everyone\u2019s delirious, knackered, people are sleeping. The coach is having to weave in and out of cars because people have dropped off \u2013 they\u2019d been there that long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matheson remembers getting a tap on the shoulder. \u201cSomeone woke me and said, \u2018What car does Ethan drive?\u2019. I said, \u2018A white Mercedes. Why?\u2019. And they said, \u2018That was like that car there (in the accident)\u2019. After that conversation, people were texting him, saying: \u2018Can you just let us know you got home safe?\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you\u2019re not expecting a reply because it\u2019s five o\u2019clock in the morning and you assume that he has (got home). Also, how many white Mercedes are there? You think it\u2019s just a coincidence, so it\u2019s not even crossing your mind (something has happened).\u201d<\/p>\n

Ethan is Ethan McLeod, a 21-year-old forward who had joined Macclesfield in the summer and been on the substitutes\u2019 bench alongside Matheson the night before. McLeod had decided to make his own way to and from Bedford that day because he lived in the Midlands.<\/p>\n

Matheson eventually got back to his home in Manchester sometime after 7am. An hour or so later, the Macclesfield manager, John Rooney, telephoned him. Matheson assumed Rooney wanted to talk about the game.<\/p>\n

The words that followed were impossible to process.<\/p>\n

McLeod had died in an accident on the M1 at 10.40pm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was kind of numb to it at first,\u201d Matheson says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all got together at the club later that day, about three or four o\u2019clock, and it was one of the most emotional days of my life. Everyone was in tears.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matheson had known McLeod longer than most. They were at Wolves together, playing in different age groups but doing rehabilitation at the same time after both suffered hamstring injuries. It was a similar story at Macclesfield, where they spent long hours in the gym recovering from injuries again.<\/p>\n

The message that Matheson posted on social media 48 hours after McLeod\u2019s death, accompanied by a photo of the two of them returning to the pitch the previous Saturday, was heartfelt and moving.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sat there trying to type the perfect message for him, deleting things, rewording it,\u201d Matheson says, his voice filled with sadness.<\/p>\n

\u201cEthan was one of the most genuine, incredible human beings you\u2019ll ever meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ethan mate where to begin. We had the pleasure of getting to know each over the years and unfortunately for us a lot of our time together was spent rehabbing in the gym. During that time I got to know a lot about the type of person you were away from the pitch. You were someone\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/M1RknLAm5l<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Luke Matheson (@Luke_Matheson41) December 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

When Matheson was studying for his A-Levels while playing for Rochdale, he spent so long in the library with his mates that they became best friends with the janitor and the cleaning staff.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a story that goes some way to explaining why it was no surprise last September to see Matheson among the first cohort to graduate from the new business school set up by the Professional Footballers Association (PFA). Aged 22, Matheson completed a diploma in sport directorship.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Other students included Phil Jones, the former Manchester United defender, the ex-Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul, and Juan Pablo Angel, who was scoring goals for Aston Villa before Matheson was born.<\/p>\n

Education has always been important to Matheson, but the impetus to enrol on a course that would typically be of interest to much older players came after suffering a serious injury in his last season at Wolves.<\/p>\n

Initially, Matheson was told he had a grade 2a hamstring injury, which is a partial tear, and that he would be out for six weeks. In his first game back, he complained of tightness, leading to another MRI scan. Matheson remembers being called into an office the following day.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the physios sat me down, showed me the report, and said, \u2018We call it a 4c, which on the grade scale is as bad as it gets. You\u2019ve got a tear in your semimembranosus tendon. We\u2019re booking a consultation for the surgery\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018Oh my God. What the hell has happened here?\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe set up the consultation with the surgeon, he assessed the images and said, \u2018You don\u2019t have to have this surgery. But my professional recommendation is, if you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll never play at the level you want to play at ever again\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Zoom call ended and I just broke down in tears.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from the frustration that Matheson felt about the earlier diagnosis, the surgeon\u2019s words served as a reminder about the precariousness of professional football. When a PFA representative visited Wolves shortly afterwards to discuss the sport directorship course with the players, Matheson jumped at it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018Why not do it and start preparing now rather than when I\u2019m 32 and thinking of retiring?\u2019,\u201d says Matheson, who did his studying after signing for Bolton Wanderers, in League One, in 2023.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n (Dave Howarth \u2013 CameraSport via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mum and dad are big on education, so they pushed me to do my A-Levels. I couldn\u2019t go away with England (under-17s) if I hadn\u2019t done my GCSE work, so that got instilled into me from a young age.<\/p>\n

\u201cI might never use the sport directorship. But if I ever do need it, I\u2019ve got it, and I\u2019ve also got another 15 years to improve myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matheson goes on to tell a story with a smile about how everyone on the course was divided into groups of four or five people and asked to study a particular club.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our case, it was Crystal Palace, funnily enough,\u201d he adds. \u201cI spent two years looking at all the ins and outs of Palace \u2014 I could even tell you how much they made from selling Coke at the stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n

He can also tell you how it felt to knock them out of the FA Cup.<\/p>\n

There were 117 league places separating Crystal Palace, the FA Cup holders, and Macclesfield, a phoenix club that was playing in the ninth tier of English football in 2021. On paper, their meeting in the FA Cup third round last month was a total mismatch. On the pitch, it was anything but.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could feel something that day, something you can\u2019t really put into words,\u201d Matheson says. \u201cYou had that genuine feeling of, \u2018Why not?\u2019. And you just know that came from Ethan, that he was looking down. He was part of that day, without a doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLeod\u2019s parents were at the game and in the changing room afterwards, celebrating a famous 2-1 victory<\/a> with the players. Matheson, who came on with 11 minutes of normal time remaining, remembers seeing McLeod\u2019s mum by the edge of the pitch at the final whistle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave her a hug and we were just there for what felt like an eternity,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m trying not to cry because I don\u2019t want her to start crying. Then one of us starts crying and we\u2019re both bawling.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were some fantastic stories in the days that followed, including the Macclesfield defender Sam Heathcote returning to Stamford Park Primary School in Altrincham, where he is a PE teacher, to a rapturous reception from the pupils.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few of us went to his school and played a little game against the kids. That was really fun,\u201d Matheson says. \u201cHe\u2019s a hero to all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matheson\u2019s a hero, too, in the eyes of Macclesfield\u2019s under-8s \u2014 a team that he coaches a couple of times a week as part of his work in the club\u2019s academy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all superstars!\u201d he says, his face beaming as he recalls the card they gave him after the Palace victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to be that coach that they remember. Even if it\u2019s just one of them who feels like that, then I\u2019ve done my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just memories that the Macclesfield players will always have of that magical day against Palace \u2014 they\u2019ve each got a little memento, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got this FA Cup ball that\u2019s got little tints of gold on it because Palace were the holders and supposed to play with that throughout their run in the FA Cup,\u201d Matheson explains. \u201cSo we\u2019ve all got one sat at home because they\u2019ll never be used again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Although Matheson hasn\u2019t ruled out a repeat performance against Brentford on Monday in the next round, there\u2019s a much bigger picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our goal now is to get to the play-offs to put ourselves in with a chance of getting promoted,\u201d he says. \u201cBut, personally for me, it\u2019s just living on with Ethan\u2019s legacy and that means being out on that pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n