The wife of late footballer Joe Thompson has revealed that she is pregnant with his baby after undergoing IVF treatment using frozen embryos.
Thompson, who came through Manchester United’s academy, died last April at the age of 36 after having been diagnosed with cancer for the third time. He had stage four lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, and is survived by his wife Chantelle and their two daughters, Thailula and Athena Rae.
Thompson’s career included spells at Rochdale, Tranmere, Southport, Bury and Carlisle United before his retirement. He is best remembered for scoring the winning goal in 2018 that saved Rochdale from League One relegation – a moment later named Laureus’ Sporting Moment of the Year.
His widow Chantelle told ITV News: ‘It just means absolutely everything. I know it’s never going to replace Joe obviously. Joe’s Joe. But to be able to bring his baby into the world again is beautiful.
‘He actually had a vision of us sat outside with a baby boy. This was maybe six months before he passed, and he assumed that it was all of us.
‘And then maybe two weeks before he passed, we were just sat in the garden and he just had a realisation and was like, “I think I was watching you with the baby and the girls in the garden, not me physically here with you”.’
Thompson had previously been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013 and recovered before the cancer returned four years later. He went on to recover a second time before calling time on his career in 2019.
He became a regular pundit on MUTV following his retirement and held an ambassadorial role, along with working as a motivational speaker and life coach.
Chantelle, who is 25 weeks pregnant, has revealed that Thompson had even given her a name for the baby boy before he died.
She has recently received an email revealing the baby’s gender, although it remains unopened as she awaits a small gathering with her and Thompson’s family to find out if he was right.
‘I hope so because I’ve only got a boy’s name,’ she added with a laugh.
The pair had lost their baby Dre just three days before he was due prior to Thompson’s death. Chantelle was relieved, then, when her IVF was successful on the first attempt.
‘It means absolutely everything, and to be blessed for it to work first time,’ she said. ‘We’d gone through IVF for three years trying to get pregnant with baby Dre. But I just knew, I knew the timing was right, I knew Joe’s messages were right.’
On 2 May, Thompson’s friends and family will gather to repeat his 2024 fundraising walk, starting at Rochdale – where he made over 200 appearances – and ending at his childhood club Manchester United.
‘It’s just something we want to do annually, just to celebrate Joe and remember Joe, because life does go on for everyone else as well, and I think for us it’s important that we can continue the work he did when he was here, and keep that alive,’ Chantelle added.
It will be one year on from Joe’s death on April 17, and Chantelle reveals she is feeling apprehensive ahead of the day.
She added: ‘I try to see the positive in things. Don’t get me wrong, there are times where I do think “Why us? Why have the girls not got their dad? Why have we gone through this?”
‘You’ve got to also allow yourself to be sad, but then also try and think of the positives, and what a guy he was, and all the memories that we had together, and the 13 years I’ve had with him.’
