Former Arsenal Football Club player, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, has been making headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. Despite earning £30,000 and living in a £700,000 house, Maitland-Niles has reportedly ignored his own mother, who remains homeless. Metro UK reports that Jules Niles, the mother of the player, claims she has been living in a metal storage container for the past three months.
Jules Niles says she has to sneak past staff at the Big Yellow Storage warehouse to sleep in the 10ft square metal box – despite her son earning £30,000 a week. The woman is reported to have been living in the box after she had a misunderstanding with the footballer. He is also accused of refusing to serve as a guarantor so she could rent a flat.
“It’s a metal container with no windows or carpet. There are no toilet or washing facilities. It’s not a home. I know what home feels like – to be able to shower, brush your teeth, and sit in your room. Most of all, I miss my family. It’s horrible. I just want to know what I’ve done wrong. It is heartbreaking. The area is covered in snow and it’s not been above freezing for days. I heard a homeless man died here overnight on Thursday,” Jules Niles said.
Ainsley, who is rated at £15m, lives in a £700,000 luxury apartment in Finchley, North London, with his brother Cordi, 23, who is a charity worker, while his mother sleeps on a bare mattress in an industrial unit just off the M25 in Hertfordshire. The pair grew up in council houses and temporary accommodation in and around Ilford, East London, with their mum saying she was sometimes so poor she went hungry.
Ainsley signed for the club’s academy when he was six and made his debut for The Gunners aged 17 in the Champions League against Galatasaray in 2014. The family initially lived in a three-bedroom home in Hertfordshire but fled in the middle of the night after Jules had a bust-up with Arsenal club staff. She was given six months to find a new home – and when she could not, she was kicked out. “I couldn’t believe it. I was devastated,” Jules Niles said.
However, Ainsley is reported to be unaware his mother is living in such terrible conditions, and he claims to hand over cash to her on a regular basis. While this may be true, it is clear that more needs to be done to help Jules Niles and others like her who are struggling with homelessness.
The issue of homelessness in the UK is a complex one, with many different factors contributing to the problem. However, one thing is clear: no one should have to sleep in a metal container or on the streets. It is time for society to come together to find solutions to this pressing issue and ensure that everyone has a safe and secure place to call home.
