Cole Palmer or ‘Cold’ Palmer as he is fondly called due to his trademark celebration, has been an instant fan favorite at Chelsea football club, due to his incredible elegance in handling the ball and the ability to step up when the team needs him to.
There was no surprise that he is touted to be the one of the biggest English stars of this generation, alongside names such as Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka, after a historical first season scoring 22 goals and assisting 11 times in the Premier League.
He had an official trophy presentation ceremony at Stamford Bridge and his family was there with him on this memorable day. While most of them were rightly singing praises of how much he deserved the award, a few curious ones couldn’t help but notice how he referred to his dad Jermaine as “my G”.
My G is a slang term which means ‘my gangster’. It is supposedly used with friends when you are really close.
That Cole referred to his dad in such a way is not a big surprise, considering he has always openly acknowledged that his father was the one who taught him everything about football.
The Chelsea star fondly recalls that his father was a dental engineer by profession, but played Sunday League Football for Blackboy FC.
A couple of years back, Cole pulled his dad’s leg during an interview with the Player’s Tribune:
Dad doesn’t play anymore since he done his knee, and I don’t really remember any specific games, but he’ll tell you how good he was. Top scorer from centre back, one season. That’s what he says, anyway. I reckon he’s lying. Sorry, Dad. Hahaha!
It now makes total sense why Jermaine appears as someone who doesn’t look like a father to a 22 year old lad. There were a few theories floating around that he was just 17 when Cole was born. But to clear all the confusion, we can reveal now that the age gap between Cole and his father–who was born in 1974 in Manchester–is almost 28 years.
Despite the conventional age gap, their relationship has been one that any kid would dream of having with their father. Both of them have a great sense of humor and never leave out a chance to engage in friendly batter.
Their relationship is marked by mutual respect and a genuine sense of companionship.
Cole still looks forward to his father’s inputs even after reaching the pinnacle of success like winning the PFA Young Player of the year award and even got nominated for the latest Ballon d’Or award.
An example of the same was spotted after England’s goalless draw against Slovenia in the group stages of Euro 2024.
While we often see a lot of stories where parent’s play a massive role in shaping their kid’s career as successful footballers, the bond that the Palmer boys share is truly unique and we can only hope to be a fly on the wall when the two of them hangout.