Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock opens up about his remarkable body transformation after shedding seven stone

Former Premier League star Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock has opened up about his incredible weight loss after losing seven stone, revealing the merits of his gastric sleeve surgery in September.

The 54-year-old told MailOnline earlier this month that the operation “saved his life” and admitted that his eating and drinking habits had gotten dangerously out of control.

Ruddock took to social media Tuesday to thank fans for their support during his weight loss journey, showing off his remarkable body transformation on Twitter.

The former Liverpool, West Ham, Southampton and Tottenham defender has appeared on popular television shows in recent years, including I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Celebrity MasterChef and Harry’s Heroes.

Eager to praise the benefits of his gastric sleeve surgery, Ruddock spoke at length about his weight loss journey on Wednesday, shortly after taking a subtle hint at Liverpool’s rivals.

The 54-year-old showed off his physique on social media as he thanked fans for their support.

‘It is a coincidence that I heard (reports say) that he had lost seven stones on Sunday. Seven was a good number on Sunday! Ruddock joked while he was in talk sport following the Reds’ 7-0 defeat of Manchester United at the weekend.

“Obviously we did Harry’s Heroes four years ago and I found out I had a heart problem so I wanted to get in shape.

“I had a pacemaker put in and I was going to get in shape but then Covid hit and I became a bum, sat at home listening to them a lot and watching Bargain Hunt. Now I’m an antiques connoisseur, let me tell you!

“I became more and more lazy, my health became embarrassing. I couldn’t move, I didn’t want to go out, and I couldn’t get anything to fit me.

Ruddock exclusively told MailOnline in March that reality star James Argent, who underwent gastric sleeve surgery in 2021 and subsequently underwent a dramatic transformation, inspired him to make a change.

The former centre-back once again attributed his seven-stone weight loss to Argent’s inspiration on Wednesday.

“I met James Argent from The Only Way is Essex at a charity football match,” Ruddock said. ‘He had had the gastric sleeve operation and lost about 13 or 14 stones. So I thought, that’s it. I have to do something now, get this under control.

‘I went to the doctor with bad ankles, bad knees. He told me to go to the gym but I said “I can’t, my ankles and knees are very bad”. Get on the bike, I can’t. Swimming, I can’t, everything hurts.

The former Premier League defender underwent the surgery in September 2022 (pictured left)

‘Razor’, photographed during the filming of Harry’s Heroes in 2019, said to ‘inflate’ during Covid

Ruddock was inspired to have the procedure by James Argent, who has lost 13 stones since undergoing the same operation in May 2021, after meeting the former TOWIE star at a celebrity football match.

‘But as soon as I lost weight, I could go to the gym. I could do what the doctors and physical therapists told me because now I can run.

‘I can get on a bike. I can go up hills and play golf without the buggy. But the most important thing is that my head is now in the best place.

I called it the bad, sad, happy and crazy syndrome. If I was angry, I would have a drink and eat. If I were content and happy, I would drink and eat. So whatever emotion I had, my excuse was to eat and drink to get myself out of that emotion. And the next day I felt bad, what did I do? Eat and drink again.

“It was a cycle and a routine that I couldn’t get out of, but now I’m out, I’m perfect.”