Liverpool hero looks unrecognisable after body transformation and 11-stone weight loss

A former Liverpool hero now looks completely different after shedding 11 stone as part of an incredible body transformation. Neil Ruddock began his weight loss journey in 2021 and is reaping the rewards of his hard work over the last three years.

The 56-year-old ballooned to 27 stone during the pandemic, which put his health at serious risk. He decided to make a change after meeting TV personality James Argent, who experienced his own 14-stone weight loss journey after having a gastric sleeve fitted.

Ruddock followed suit by undergoing his own gastric sleeve procedure and now eats far less than before, while he has also reduced his alcohol intake. He recently explained that his excessive eating and drinking habits started on his 28th birthday in 1996.

The former defender was gearing up to play in that year’s FA Cup final between Liverpool and Manchester United. His father had bought 50 tickets so his family could watch him at Wembley, but Ruddock was dropped from the squad and did not play.

He only found out the day before the match, which United won thanks to a late goal from Eric Cantona. As a result, Ruddock felt he had let his family down and did not handle it well.

He told The Times: “The greatest thing I’ve ever done in life is making my dad proud of me. Roy just said it was the toughest decision he had to make. It was the toughest decision he’s ever had in management.

“You know, I love the man to death, but it wasn’t… at the end of the day, I can’t blame him. He’s had to make a decision but I just couldn’t handle it. I remember ringing my dad in tears. My dad’s in tears as well. I still might want to cry. I want to cry now.”

While his Liverpool team-mates were battling it out with United, Ruddock sat in the dressing room and began to drink cans of beer.

In his new book, Toxic, he explained: “All of a sudden, sport, the thing you have relied on all your life to deliver the good times, is doing exactly the opposite. The cup final was the start of a spiral which never ended, the start of mad, bad, sad, glad syndrome.

“Until that day I had never ever doubted myself. Never. Not once. Now it was all I did. Anxiety bubbled underneath. I was gone, a volcano waiting to erupt.”