Tom Clare was all smiles as he celebrated with his teammates after Macclesfield FC achieved a stunning victory over Crystal Palace, the current FA Cup champions.
The Love Island champion, age 26, joined Macclesfield FC as one of their initial players in June 2021. He led the team in scoring during the 2021-22 season, netting 23 goals.
John Rooney’s Macclesfield team achieved a remarkable upset in the third round, defeating the defending champions Crystal Palace despite being a non-league side.
Oh my gosh, you will NOT believe what happened! Macclesfield – my Macclesfield, even though they’re currently 14th in the National League North – they actually won! And it wasn’t just any win, it was a brilliant 2-1 victory! The final whistle blew and the entire crowd just rushed the pitch – it was absolute chaos, but the best chaos! I was right there, it was incredible!
Macclesfield won a remarkable victory, which deeply moved Wayne Rooney, who then celebrated his brother’s achievement.
Wayne, the 2016 FA Cup winner, was working as a commentator for the BBC during the match and became visibly emotional when discussing John’s achievements.
‘It’s incredible, I am getting emotional to see my younger brother achieve this,’ Wayne said.
He’s relatively new to management, so I’m incredibly proud of him for reaching the fourth round of the FA Cup and defeating Crystal Palace.
He seemed remarkably calm, which is incredible considering everything he accomplished today. It was a truly superb performance.
After the game, Wayne hugged his brother John, who was about to give an interview with the BBC as the Macclesfield manager.
“I’m just… the same,” John said, his voice choked with emotion. “I honestly can’t process this, it doesn’t seem real.”
From the very beginning, we played exceptionally well. We created a few good opportunities in the first half and then managed to take the lead. I believe our victory was well-earned.
‘I thought we were incredible to a man, I couldn’t be any prouder of the lads.’
In January 2023, the reality star received permission from his team to take a break from his current commitments and join the ninth season of Love Island on ITV2.
Tom finished in third place with his girlfriend at the time, Samie Elishi, but they split up a few weeks after getting back to the UK, as the relationship didn’t continue to work outside of the show’s environment.
One year after appearing on the show, he won the first season of Love Island: All Stars with his girlfriend, Molly Smith. They then got engaged 18 months later while in Dubai.
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2026-01-10 19:50