Meet Pete Sibley: the man who draws cursed cartoons of famous footballers that you’ll never see the same way again
Social media can often be a two-sided coin: sometimes you see humanity at its absolute best, other times less so. This is neither of those — we just can't stop laughing.
While scrolling aimlessly through Twitter over the last few days, we looked beyond all the worthwhile news stories and cutting-edge journalism and, instead, we chose to spend hours looking at daft, cartoon-based portraits of some of football’s most recognisable faces.
Caricatures of footballers are nothing new — they spark memories of walking down the beachfront on holiday and eyeing up fake Real Madrid shirts and so on — but these comedic little cartoons are like the kind you’re used to seeing.
Drawn by artist Pete Sibley, whose popularity online is growing with each comical even if admittedly cursed cartoon, he depicts footballers, managers and in a simple but ever-surreal style.
Regularly fusing two individuals’ likenesses together in an almost uncanny valley-esque manner, some are more exaggerated and silly than others, but one thing’s for sure: you’ll struggle to look at these people the same way ever again.
‘Guardihaaland’‘ten Hagrid’This one doesn’t have a title, it’s just terrifying.
We’re not joking when we say he’s got literally dozens of these creepy combinations across his social media channels: 71 and counting, as far as we’re aware.
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In fact, we know it’s at least 71 because you can literally buy Pete’s sketchbook which is filled with copies of his humorous drawings, not to mention individual prints if you want to gift someone perhaps the most unique and inexplicable kinds of artwork on the market.
These faces might be something, but we’d love to see the kind you get when your friend or loved one opens up one of these bad boys.
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Here are some of his most random examples of late:
‘Carnacho’‘Paul Frogba‘‘Kevin de Bacon’
And just in case you were wondering, he doesn’t just focus solely on Man United and City figures either — though he certainly seems to have a knack for capturing their essence whilst also making them absolutely ridiculous.
Pete sketches players, managers and more from across all the football leagues, each just as hilarious ad confounding as the last.
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When we asked him for a bit of background about himself and what his inspiration was, he simply said: “I just thought maybe somebody else would also find them funny.”
You were absolutely right, Pete.
‘Harry Quagmire’‘Barteta’‘Moe Salah’He does a lot of amusing animation-based ones but that Salah one is straight-up nightmare fuel
To be honest, we think we like him staying somewhat of an enigma. On the one hand, it adds to his reputation (move over Banksy) and on the other, we’re not sure we want to dive too far into the mind that conjures up these absolutely wonderful but often unsettling sketches.
We’ll warn you that once you start going down the Pete Sibley rabbit hole, you won’t be coming back any time soon: we literally looked back through every single caricature we could find and still couldn’t pick a favourite.
As if this artistic series wasn’t weird enough, Pete isn’t the only person painting and drawing utterly cursed cartoons at the minute either…
Tesco are introducing ‘VAR-style’ self-checkouts in the UK
Danny Jones
Many people think VAR has already gone too far and want it gone from football full stop, and we’re here to tell you that you’re a fool; your hopes are in vain, and the technology is only going to become more common as time goes on. Sorry.
So much so, in fact, that Tesco look are bringing in their own virtual referee into self-checkout systems in shops. You could say the ‘game’s gone…’
Of course, we’re being a bit flippant here, but if you have seen ‘VAR’ and ‘Tesco‘, you’re not seeing things: this is genuinely a thing that is being rolled out here in the UK, with video footage of the supermarket chain’s next self-checkout technology going viral online.
Thought you’d got away with sneaking an extra little something in the bag without paying? Think again.
— UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) May 28, 2025
We’ll admit, this was the first time we’d come across the technology, but as it turns out, the updated self-checkout service has been in place for a while.
Similar VAR checkouts have already been installed at other retailers, Sainsbury’s and ASDA, although some reports claim that while stores capture footage of shoppers to check if they’ve scanned all of their items, it is thought that not all of these self-service tills show a playback when an error is detected.
Although this particular speculation has sparked some uproar and debate online, many have quite rightly pointed out that CCTV records your movement in any given shop.
Regardless, it’s fair to say that aside from the obvious memes and people poking fun at the new system, many on social media have shared some pretty strong opinions on the matter.
Not that it matters much – it’s likely this will soon become increasingly the norm, with the likes of Sainsbury’s having already introduced barriers which require customers to scan their receipt in order to leave at branches such as the site on Regent Road Retail Park over in Salford.
As yet, it’s unclear how many of these new self-service tills are in operation and whether they are limited to larger supermarket locations of their Express convenience stores, but don’t be surprised if you come across one.
Put simply, if a barcode isn’t registered before being put on the scale and/or set aside to be packed away, the Tesco till will read: “The last item wasn’t scanned properly. Remove from bagging area and try again.”
Addressing these new VAR-style checkouts in an official statement, a company spokesperson said: “We are always looking at technology to make life easier for our customers.
“We have recently installed a new system at some stores which helps customers using self-service checkouts identify if an item has not been scanned properly, making the checkout process quicker and easier.”
What do you make of the new Tesco and their new VAR self-checkout technology?
Ruben Amorim reacts as Manchester United are booed off after Malaysia friendly
Danny Jones
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has delivered a fairly brutal response after his club were booed off by supporters during a friendly in Malaysia.
The Red Devils recently embarked on a post-season tour following a calamitous 2024/25 campaign, both domestically and continentally, with that limp loss in the Europa League final, but have already resumed what has become alarmingly normal service with yet another defeat.
Finding themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline against ASEAN All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur – a squad comprised of various talents from around the region who had never played together before and were only founded as an actual team back in 2014 – it was all far from clean slates and fresh starts.
In the wake of the shock result, Man United were booed off by the Malaysian and other international fans inside the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, which saw more than 70,000 in attendance.
It’s the end and that’s it. Man United got boo’ed by the fans after the final whistle.
They got beaten by non-full team Asean All-Star who just trained together as a group few days before the match. pic.twitter.com/fBxnMiZPN8
For context, the ASEAN All-Stars had only trained together for the first time just days before the game itself, but the de facto exhibition outfit still managed to break the deadlock in the 71st minute against a United side that rarely looked like scoring.
All that being said, Amorim had some choice words for his own players in his post-match duties after their first post-season tour fixture, insisting that while he always remains accountable, those out on the pitch perhaps received somewhat of a deserved reckoning too.
He began by stating, “I’m always guilty of the performance of the team, no matter what. [I have been responsible] since the first day”, but went on to argue: “The boos from the fans, I think it something that we need, maybe.”
Citing that the Old Trafford faithful and die-hard away fans have always been loyal and supportive despite frustration in the league, he suggested that “maybe they will change the way they behave” following this latest reality check.
Despite adding that he has seen reasons for optimism in performances against Man City and Liverpool, for instance, where he felt he saw “belief” and seeds of what’s to come, he’s made very few excuses for the poor displays up to now.
United face the Hong Kong national team in their next friendly on Friday, 29 May, and it’s fair to say anything less than a win would be beyond bad for the predictably unpredictable Premier League club.
You can see his full post-match press conference down below.
Danny Jones -
15th February 2023 
