Premier League star ‘delighted’ after getting donkey named after him and there’s a touching reason

A PREMIER LEAGUE star is chuffed after having a donkey named after him by a sanctuary in Devon.

Kai Havertz has said he is delighted after a young foal was named after him by Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary.

The 24-year-old, who is on the verge of completing his £65million move to Arsenal from Chelsea, is a huge fan of donkeys.

He has previously said that they are his favourite animal and has campaigned against animal cruelty.

The German international is such a huge fan of the animals that his nickname at Chelsea was actually donkey.

He said in an interview with the Guardian: “Some of my team-mates call me donkey. It’s not because of my football.

“From day one, I felt a special relationship with donkeys. It’s a very calm animal: maybe I see myself in them because I’m calm too.

“They chill all day, don’t do much, just want to live their life. I loved them always.

“When I lost, I would go to the sanctuary. You look at the animals, see something human in them. It was a kind of recovery, a place I felt peace.”

Havertz grew up around rescued donkeys at a sanctuary near his hometown.

He now has the little foal at the Sidmouth sanctuary named Kai.

CEO of The Donkey Sanctuary, Marianne Steele, praised the former Leverkusen man for his work with donkeys.

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She told the : “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.”

Kai said he was delighted after finding out the news of having the honour bestowed upon him.

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.”