Pierce Charles can’t help but smile as he waits for Shea to walk into the kitchen.
It’s Shea’s 23rd birthday and he has a cake to surprise him, something he knows will embarrass his older brother.
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Right on cue, he gets the response that he was looking for as Shea has a sheepish smile, and Pierce launches into a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ for the cameras.
In an exclusive interview at their London home, the brothers talk about breaking lamps while playing football as kids, debating who does the chores and the upcoming release of video game Grand Theft Auto VI.
With a cup of tea offered and shoes off at the door, you wouldn’t think you were chatting with two international footballers, especially two who are riding the crest of a wave on the pitch.
London traffic aside, they are enjoying life in the hustle and bustle of the city as they live in England’s capital for the first time.
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“It’s better than I thought it was going to be, I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it,” said Pierce who is spending the season on loan at Queens Park Rangers from Manchester City.
“I actually love it, and living together has been good. There’s so much to do in London,” added midfielder Shea, who joined Fulham from Southampton in a £30m move in August.
It is the first time the brothers have lived in London, but the third time they have lived together.
Having been born and grown up in Manchester, they came through Manchester City’s academy before Pierce joined Sheffield Wednesday aged 16.
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Shea stayed at the Etihad and made his Premier League debut under Pep Guardiola in May 2023 before signing for Southampton that summer.
The brothers were reunited at Wednesday when Shea joined on loan for the 2024-25 campaign, but there was some 200 miles between them last year as the midfielder returned to St Mary’s.
This summer, after impressive performances for Wednesday and Northern Ireland, Pierce returned to Manchester City in a long-term deal before joining QPR on loan.
Not to be outdone, Shea earned a switch back to the Premier League with Fulham as he became Northern Ireland’s first £30m footballer.
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Both based in west London, that gave them the opportunity to move back in together, reigniting debates over who is better at the Grand Theft Auto games and Fortnite and who cooks the better steak sandwich.
They both want to claim top honours, but Pierce feels he will have the edge if he can get the peppercorn sauce recipe off the chef at QPR.
Older brother Eoin and parents Mary and Kelvin often come to visit, too, and there’s more debate over who makes the house presentable, and whether doing the dishwasher actually counts as a chore.
“I think she secretly wants it to be messy, so she can have a little dig at us and do it anyway,” jokes Pierce about Mary, who was born in Northern Ireland.
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“She enjoys it really, she’s not on holiday,” Shea laughs.
Quickly realising the danger of getting a telling off on her next visit, Shea adds, “Mum is class. We appreciate mum”.
Who broke the lamp?
Things quickly get competitive between the brothers over a game of two touch [BBC Sport]
Before the brothers sit down for a chat, there’s time for a kick about in the garden for a game of ‘two touch’.
It doesn’t take long for their competitive side to shine through, and a best of three quickly becomes best of five then, eventually, a rematch.
Conversation turns to memories of similar games in the family garden as kids and how things used to always take a similarly competitive turn.
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“When we used to play Wembley I would have always beaten you two and the loser went in nets,” said Shea.
“If you want a fun fact, people might think he is the best player now but Shea was actually the worst out of us when we were younger in the back garden,” Pierce was quick to respond.
“It was me, then Eoin and then Shea. To be fair, he’s improved massively since.”
There’s a blame game over a broken clock and lamp, and middle child Shea has to plead his innocence over the latter.
“I broke the clock but I didn’t break the lamp. It actually wasn’t me, I swear,” recalled Shea, still pleading his case before a mischievous “I loved that lamp” almost makes him look guilty.
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Olympic memories
Fourteen years on from watching the Olympics, Pierce Charles made a late double save to earn QPR a draw at West Ham’s London Stadium [Getty Images]
The brothers have yet to hit London’s tourist spots since moving to the capital, but a trip to Thorpe Park just outside the city is on the cards.
Their first memories of London are from visiting their cousins growing up, and there have been trips to Wembley to see childhood club Manchester City.
But the London 2012 Olympics stand out as an early memory, when the brothers would have been eight and nine years of age.
They remember meeting Team GB heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and recall racing outside of the London Stadium.
“There were little events on outside the stadium,” Shea recalled.
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“Like the 50 metres and that sort of stuff. I won my race.”
Now the home of West Ham United, both brothers have played at the ground this season, some 14 years on from watching the Olympics at the same venue.
When QPR visited West Ham in October, Pierce was the hero as he saved Jarrod Bowen’s last-gasp penalty to deny the Hammers three points.
His man of the match trophy from that game is proudly displayed in their home.
“It looks so much different from what I remember,” said Shea on the London Stadium.
“And then we’re playing in it 14 years later,” added Pierce.
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“It’s mad, we’re getting on a bit aren’t we?”
‘We’re joined at the hip’
The Charles brothers are just two players in a young and exciting Northern Ireland squad.
Michael O’Neill’s side currently top Group B2 in the Nations League after four matches, and they have yet to concede a goal.
The campaign started in Georgia in September and both Shea and Pierce played their part in a famous win.
Pierce saved a penalty from Paris Saint-Germain star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and also made another big intervention to deny Georges Mikautadze.
Then, nine minutes into additional time, Shea popped up with a late winner to kick-start a window that would see Northern Ireland top their Nations League group after four matches, without conceding a goal.
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“I think that’s what started the good run,” said Pierce.
“You can’t win a game like that and fall off.”
Now, Northern Ireland will look to finish the job as they host Ukraine in Belfast on Saturday, and finish the campaign in Hungary on 17 November.
“Two wins would be the dream and it would set us up nicely for the next few years,” said Pierce.
“The next few games will be tough but we can’t wait.”
Given they live together and will be in Northern Ireland camp side-by-side – do they get sick of each other?
“It feels like I can’t get away from you when we’re on camp, but at least it’s not shared rooms,” said Shea.
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“I don’t think I could do it.”
“We’re just joined at the hip,” said Pierce, who added he doesn’t get fed up with spending time with his brother.
“We’re always together but we’re not always together, if you know what I mean.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
