Paul Elliott (footballer)

Paul Elliott

Personal information
Date of birth	(1964-03-18) 18 March 1964
Place of birth	Lewisham, London, England
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1980–1983	Charlton Athletic	63	(1)
1983–1985	Luton Town	66	(4)
1985–1987	Aston Villa	57	(7)
1987–1989	Pisa	23	(1)
1989–1991	Celtic	52	(2)
1991–1994	Chelsea	42	(3)
National team
1984–1986	England U21	3	(1)
1991	England B	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Paul Elliott MBE (born 18 March 1964 in Lewisham, London) is a former footballer who played as a defender.

Starting his career with Charlton Athletic in the early 1980s, Elliott signed for First Division Luton Town in 1982. He then joined Aston Villa (in 1985) and spent two years at Italian club Pisa before joining Celtic in 1989. In his final season at Parkhead, Elliott was awarded the Scottish Footballer of the Year award. In the summer of 1991, he signed for Chelsea for £1,400,000.

In September 1992, Elliott sustained a serious knee injury, resulting from a challenge by Liverpool's Dean Saunders. He never played again and on 10 May 1994 – just four days before Chelsea lost to Manchester United in their first FA Cup final since 1970 – Elliott announced his retirement after failing to recover from the injury. Player and club had been confident of a return to action in 1993–94 and he had been issued with the number 22 shirt with the introduction of squad numbers in the FA Premier League.

Just after his retirement, Elliott filed a lawsuit against Saunders seeking damages for the career-ending injury. However, he lost the case when a civil court found that Saunders was not at fault.

Elliott was often a pundit on Football Italia.

Along with Mark Walters of Rangers and Bobo Balde of Celtic, Elliott was subjected to racist abuse from opposition fans. In 2003, Elliott was awarded the MBE for his work with young players and his involvement with anti-racism initiatives in football.