A Liverpool mad fan from Penketh has won a unique global competition ran by Liverpool FC on Twitter.
Gus Schofield, aged 12, will be the Reds’ new number five for one game only, after a winning a Twitter vote thanks to a collection of number five shirts spanning numerous seasons.
His dad Craig, said: “He’s absolutely made up.
“When the result came through, him and his mum were jumping up and down, screaming and somehow got his mouth banged and cut his lip!
“Then he just couldn’t keep still and was singing We Are The Champions!
“Shortly after it was off to football training for him, in the rain, wearing last year’s number 5 shirt (he hasn’t got this year’s yet) over the top of his hoody, so he could gloat to his friends.
“An hour of rain subdued him a little!
“His phone nearly shook itself to bits with notifications and tweets of congratulations and it was like that for a couple of hours.”
The #1in5Million competition was launched after the club’s official Twitter account, @LFC, hit five million followers recently.
Penketh High School pupil Gus was shortlisted to the final five last week before Liverpool legend Ronnie Whelan chose his favourite two to go to the 24-hour Twitter vote.
His Twitter handle, @gus_schofield, will now be printed on a number five shirt and hung up in the dressing room for Liverpool’s upcoming game against West Brom on December 13.
Gus will also attend the game with a friend, with travel and accommodation paid for, see his name in the official programme and be announced on the famous Anfield tannoy.
Craig added: “We live at number five and we think this is why it has always been Gus’s favourite number and he has always asked for it on his Liverpool shirts. Our postcode is also WA5!
“He plays football for Crosfields JFC and has bizarrely (barring two years with the number 11) drawn the number 5 shirt in a random pick from a hat five times!
“He didn’t have a Twitter account until we saw this competition but it just seemed too perfect a chance for him to try and win it.”
Gus and his dad are both LFC club members and attend the odd cup game, but Craig admits league games are almost impossible to get tickets for, making the prize extra special.
Craig added: “We’d love season tickets but we can’t even get on the waiting list. The highlights for him would be having his name in the programme and hearing his name announced on the tannoy.
“The best thing would be being famous for a day as an LFC player in his favourite number five shirt.”
Gus has played in defence since starting his junior football career at the age of five, and also turns out for the Penketh High School football team.
He beat off competition from Canadian Liverpool fan Dylan Dacosta to win 54% of the Twitter votes in their head to head competition for the prize.
