Everton legend and ex-MLS coach Adrian Heath was kidnapped after fake Saudi offer

Tom Weber

• 21 Jan 2026 13:00 CST
• 5 min read

News

Everton legend and former Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath has opened up on a harrowing kidnapping ordeal in late 2024.

A former striker, Heath made north of 200 appearances for Everton in the 1980s and also played for various other clubs, including Man City and Spanish side Espanyol.

He has been a coach since the late 1990s and has spent the last 18 years in the United States. Heath made a name for himself stateside as the long-time coach of Orlando City as they went from the second-division USL to MLS.

After leaving the Florida side, where he had coached his son Harrison, Heath became the inaugural manager of Minnesota United in MLS after their move from the now-defunct NASL.

He left Minnesota after seven seasons in late 2023 and has been without a job since. Despite being in his mid-60s, Heath is keen to get back into coaching, and he thought he had the chance to do exactly that when a Saudi club ostensibly tried to hire him in November 2024.

Heath opens up on harrowing kidnapping

What followed was a terrifying ordeal that saw Heath kidnapped and held captive for 24 hours in Morocco, with three men trying to extort money from him. It has since emerged that two other managers were subjected to this before him, and another since.

Speaking to The Athletic in December, Heath opened up about his harrowing experience for the first time. The interview has now been published and makes for difficult reading.

It all began when the 65-year-old received a call from a UK-based agent in the summer of 2024. He was asked whether he was interested in working in Saudi Arabia and responded positively.

The job was filled by another manager, but when results turned sour for the club in question, Heath was again contacted by the same caller. Nothing seemed off about the discussion with the agent. It was a negotiation like any other he had previously been part of.

Heath contacted Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard as well as other friends who had worked in Saudi Arabia and received positive reviews. He accepted the job and was asked to meet the club owner - "the sheikh" - in one of his properties in Morocco.

However, after getting picked up by two men at the airport in Tangier, he soon realised that his destination would not be a luxury hotel. Instead, Heath ended up in a "sketchy neighbourhood," where he was ushered into a room in a barren apartment.

“You obviously realise that this isn’t what you thought it was going to be,” one of the three men in the room with him said. "This is how it’s going to work: You’re going to send us money. And if you don’t, you won’t see your wife again. You won’t see your two kids and your grandkids.”

Heath was threatened with a knife, but couldn't do anything from Morocco. His wife back in the States had to send the money. Due to the time difference, he had to wait on a couch for seven hours until the next morning.

When he called his wife, she made the "split-second decision" of claiming that they recently changed bank accounts and that she couldn't do anything without his approval.

“Adrian, we changed bank accounts less than 12 months ago,” she said. “You’re the head name on it. I can’t transfer any money without you there.” His wife ended up calling their son, Harrison, the husband of former Canada international Kaylyn Kyle, to explain the situation.

It was Kyle who had the brilliant idea of using the ‘Find My Friends’ app. Heath's kidnappers had not turned off the location service on his phone, which allowed his family to take a screenshot of his whereabouts. Harrison also contacted an FBI agent whose child he was coaching.

When his captors found out that their scheme had been uncovered, they immediately blew the whole thing off. “Like a light switch was flicked,” Heath described it.

He was driven back to the airport and, understandably disturbed, hopped on the next flight back to Europe. In the end, he only lost the $600 that were stolen from his wallet instead of the six-figure sum that had been demanded from him.

An FBI and NCA investigation is still ongoing, which is why a lot of information remains confidential, but Heath decided to go public in order to raise awareness and to protect other managers from potentially falling into the same trap.

He says that the ordeal reinforced his desire to get back into coaching. "We’re talking about a year ago, virtually now, and I was sitting there that night thinking, ‘This is it and I’ve still got so much I want to do.’

"And so I still want to coach. I still want to get back out there. I’ve still got the enthusiasm."

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•App Store