Prince William is known to be an avid football fan, but there's more to his passion than an appreciation of the sport.
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During a chat with footballers Harry Kane and Declan Rice, Prince William revealed that he has football to thank for some of his closest friends, telling the sportsmen that he has "a lot of friends" he met through playing football in his youth.
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"Some of the greatest friendships are born from playing games and being pushed together in slight adversity," the Prince of Wales continued.
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Princess Kate's husband continued that playing huge games of football are some of his fondest memories from childhood.
He recalled playing four simultaneous games of football with his entire set at school – around 60 pupils – using multiple balls.
© Photo: Getty ImagesPrince William has fond memories of playing football as a boy
"The sheer size and scale and just the fun of everyone running around chasing each other, I loved it.
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"I was a defender, I was stuck at the back and told to just tackle," he continued.
© Photo: Getty ImagesPrince William has strong bonds with many professional footballers
William has fallen foul of tackles in recent years, giving a glimpse into a football he injured after playing with I'm a Celebrity star Jill Scott.
In August, the father-of-three took to social media to wish footballer Jill luck in her retirement, adding at the end of his heartfelt message: "Tiny bit pleased there won't be any more slide tackles during 'friendly' kickabouts…" leading fans to wonder what the royal was talking about.
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It turns out that around 10 years ago, Prince William and Jill Scott were playing football and she slide tackled and "wiped out" the future King during a charity event.
Explaining what happened between herself and the royal, Jill explained: "It does stem back to about 10 years ago when we did a charity event and I slipped and slide-tackled him and actually wiped him out," she said on her BBC podcast Jill Scott's Coffee Club.
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