Grealish Gives £10,000 to Southport Man's Cancer Trial Fund
Everton's Jack Grealish has given £10,000 to a fundraiser for a Southport man with an aggressive kidney cancer. The man's wife, Crystal Duffey, said she was left "frozen in shock" when she saw the donation.
Her husband, Leon Skapars, 36, hopes to join a clinical trial at the MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Texas. A place costs $200,000 (£179,110). Duffey, 31, started the appeal and said the family worried they would never get close to the target.
The gift appeared on Thursday. A video from Skapars's Instagram page had been shared on someone's story, and Grealish saw it. "I thought it must be a glitch or something," Duffey said. She woke her husband, and the two hugged and cried. "£10,000 is a lot of money. But for our family, this could change our future."
A diagnosis after months of doubt
Skapars was diagnosed with sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma in August 2025. For five months the couple had believed he had kidney stones. He had blood in his urine and bad lower back pain, Duffey said, and doctors told them he was too young to have cancer.
Doctors found an 8cm tumour, which she described as a very rare, aggressive form of the disease. Skapars had immunotherapy in December and had a kidney removed. In April he was told the cancer had spread to both lungs and the lymph nodes in his chest.
He has stage four cancer and was put on the NHS palliative care pathway. His doctors gave him between 12 months and three years to live. A trial he was due to start in Manchester fell through, so the family had his tumour tested privately. That test showed he was eligible for the Texas trial.
The couple got married three weeks ago in what Duffey called a "bittersweet" ceremony. They have three sons.
The family support Everton. Duffey said fans of the club have since sent messages, telling them: "You're not fighting this alone, we are the people's team and we're all here with you." She said the trial now feels within reach and that Skapars can have a fair chance of being there for the children.
Source: BBC News