Footballer delighted to have Devon donkey given his name

A Premier League footballer has said he is "delighted" to have a donkey named after him by a charity in Devon.

The foal at the Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth has been named after Kai Havertz, who is set to move from Chelsea to Arsenal.

The charity named the foal after seeing a newspaper article where the player said his teammates call him "donkey" due to his love of the animals.

Mr Havertz said donkeys are "such incredible animals".

The 24-year-old joined Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 for a deal worth about £71m.

The striker grew up spending time with rescued donkeys at a sanctuary near his hometown of Aachen in Germany.

He said his teammates called him donkey because they were aware of his affection for the animals and because they are intelligent.

He said: "I have followed the work of The Donkey Sanctuary for some time so when they got in touch to say they'd like to name a foal after me, I was delighted.

"Donkeys are such incredible animals, and I am very happy to give my name so this little donkey can help raise awareness of the importance of good donkey welfare, here and all around the world."

Marianne Steele, CEO of The Donkey Sanctuary, said: "Kai has proved to be a real champion of donkeys in every sense of the word.

"We are so pleased to have the opportunity to name our new foal after him and hope he will continue to inspire people to think about donkeys differently."

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