Dubai: Football freestyling star Billy Wingrove is searching for a new club in the UAE as he looks to begin his professional football journey after his proposed move to Desert Falcons FC fell through.
The 43-year-old had agreed to join the UAE Third Division side on a professional contract, taking on a player-coach role under former Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor.
However, Wingrove has now confirmed he will not be joining the club.
In a video posted to his Instagram account, where he has 1.3 million followers, Wingrove explained the situation while insisting his ambitions to play football in the UAE remain alive.
"Since coming over to Dubai, I had the plans of playing pro football and being a coach for Desert Falcons," he said.
"However, on the last day of the transfer window the manager who brought me over quit his role."
Despite the setback, Wingrove made it clear he is determined to find another opportunity, with the former Tottenham Hotspur academy player continuing to train while considering his next move.
"What I do want to say is my football journey isn't over, I'm still training and I've got a lot of decisions to make on where I want to play my football and I'll be doing that in the next few weeks," he added.
Wingrove, a lifelong Tottenham fan, earned a trial with the club's academy at a young age before signing a professional freestyle contract with Spurs in 2003, believed to be the first of its kind in English football.
While best known for his football tricks and skills, he also spent several years playing at semi-professional level as he continued to pursue his ambitions on the pitch.
His footballing profile received another boost in 2025 when he scored during Soccer Aid, representing the Rest of the World team in the charity match.
The move to Desert Falcons had offered Wingrove an opportunity to combine his experience in football with coaching, while taking another step towards playing professionally in the UAE.
With that deal now off the table, his focus turns to finding a new club where he can continue his playing ambitions and potentially combine them with a coaching role.
Wingrove says he expects to make a decision about his future in the coming weeks, leaving the door open for another UAE club to offer the football personality an opportunity to begin the next chapter of his career.