ARSENAL right-back Hector Bellerin has raised more than £19,000 for the British Red Cross to help the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.
The young defender revealed before the Under-21 European Championship that he would donate £50 for every minute he featured for Spain.
I promised to donate £50 for every minute I played at #U21Euro. I will be donating to @BritishRedcross. Please support in any way you can
pic.twitter.com/OX6kVTFKY4
— Héctor Bellerín (@HectorBellerin) July 2, 2017
Some 80 people have been confirmed dead following the inferno that caused devastation in West London on June 14.
The incident led to thousands of protesters marching on Downing Street where they demanded justice for those affected by the tragedy.
Bellerin tweeted earlier today: “I promised to donate £50 for every minute I played at #U21Euro. I will be donating to @BritishRedcross. Please support in any way you can.”
The 22-year-old featured in four out of five games for Albert Celades’s side – playing 381 minutes of football as they finished as losing finalists against Germany on Friday evening.
He missed out on the last group match game against Serbia which Spain won 1-0, after already securing their place in the semi-finals.
Should he have played every minute of the tournament, he would have had to donate a whopping £22,5000.
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For every minute I play in #U21EURO I'll donate £50 to help Grenfell Tower victims. Please support in any way
— Héctor Bellerín (@HectorBellerin) June 17, 2017
Hector Bellerin factfile
- Bellerin was born in Barcelona, Spain on March 19 1995
- He started his career with Barca’s academy after joning the club aged eight
- Arsenal signed the defender in 2011
- Bellerin played eight games on loan at Watford during the 2013/14 campaign
- He made his Arsenal debut in the League Cup against West Brom in September 2013
- Barcelona have been linked with a move for the star on several occasions in recent years
- Bellerin has helped Arsenal to win the FA Cup in 2015 and 2017
He isn’t the only footballer to have raised money for the victims of the fire, with Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling revealing he would pledging support for families.
The former Liverpool star told BBC: “This is a deep and sad situation, one that’s close to my heart and hard to swallow. I would like to help in the best way I can.
“It is only a small step, but small steps lead to big changes if we all come together.
“My condolences to the affected families, also the individuals who lost their homes.”
While Havant & Waterlooville forward Marvin Morgan staged a celebrity football match in the hope of raising £10,000 for the cause.
With Bellerin's gesture receiving praise from fans around the country, he may be set to incur the wrath of Gunners supporters as his agent works on a deal to bring him back to Barcelona.
Since making his breakthrough with the North Londoners in 2014, he has went on to make 114 appearances, where he has picked up two FA Cup winners medals.
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