From north west to north west: Tyrone Mears is settled in Seattle.

Tyrone Mears has very rarely followed the conventional path. Born in Stockport, a sleepy town in the north of England, he was picked up by Manchester City as a youngster. He remembers his first session, when as a life-long Man United fan he made a rather naive decision.

“I turned up in a Manchester United kit,” he says laughing. While he can reflect on it with humour now, it wasn’t so amusing at the time. A fan of Paul Ince, Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes, he has not forgotten that it was City who provided his route into the professional game. “After being at [Manchester] City for a long time they were a special club for me,” he says. “I always look for their results even now.”

He would make just one appearance for City’s first team, in a 3-0 win over Manchester City in March 2002. Leaving just four months later he joined Preston North End. He would spend four years at Deepdale, before a short spell at West Ham United and then a move to Derby County.

It’s at this point one of the more interesting urban legends of Mears career takes centre stage. Following Derby’s relegation to the second tier, there was interest from Olympique Marseille in France. The defender was eager to discuss the potential loan deal with the French giants. The story goes that Derby refused and in a desperate bid to push it through he climbed out of a toilet window at the training ground and went AWOL to France.

For years many have wondered was it true. “Does it sound like it’s true?” Mears says laughing. “It was a certain journalist I can’t remember his name. He had it in for the club, he was coming out with what kind of cars Robbie Savage was driving and all sorts of things. Where the story came from I don’t know.”

Mears enjoyed his time in Marseille. He scored in the UEFA Cup against Dutch giants Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena - just days after he’d made his Ligue 1 debut in a 3-1 win over fierce rivals PSG. All in all it was a pleasing period of his career and one that he wishes he had extended.

“It was really good and I think the thing that disappoints me now when I look back is that I had the chance to sign permanently and didn’t,” he says. “My wife and two kids didn’t come over and I was really missing them. I wasn’t really thinking about football at that time and any kind of offer I could have got to come back was purely for the kids and not for footballing reasons.”

That moment abroad did spark something though, at least subconsciously. While a second stint outside of England was not something he was actively chasing, serendipity presented an opportunity to leave England late last year. “I came to LA on holiday to train and I was waiting to see what would happen [with my career],” he says. “I didn’t know what was going to happen and where I wanted to play. I was working with a personal coach and taking my own time and getting my head clear.”

Mears had only recently left Bolton Wanderers, a relationship that ended rather sourly and involved the PFA after he was forced to train with everyone but the first team squad. “I was with Dickson Etuhu at the time and he got a call from Clint Dempsey telling him to come and get some football practice,” Mears explains. “I wasn’t even looking to come to MLS for a trial. It was only when I came here and played for two weeks that I thought about it.”

Impressing sufficiently during his training stint he has quickly elevated himself to first-team regular and a much admired member of the team among supporters. For many English players a move to America is much simpler due to the shared culture and language.

However there remain elements to discover and that exploration is something Mears enjoys. “Seattle is a beautiful place,” he says. “It’s very outdoorsy, lots of hiking. It’s not just in the stadium but also on the streets everyone is so positive and socially open to talk. When I’ve been at other clubs in England or France you don’t know if a fan coming up to you is going to be good or not. That’s one of the biggest things here is that you can come here and have a life.”

Certainly from talking to Mears, he sounds relaxed in his new surroundings. The polarising nature of former club Bolton and Seattle does not seem lost on him. Leaving England by chance rather than intention, it is a path that few players choose. Many argue it is cultural but Mears has his own theory.

“Ive always be open to it [moving abroad]” he says. “I think the reason English players don’t move abroad is because of the wages you can earn, not just in the Premier League but in the Championship. You’ve got Championship clubs that can compete with the bottom to middle Spanish clubs in the top league; it’s the same in France. Germany I think is a little bit better.”

Certainly money is something that Mears is considering when making career decisions. Currently happy in Seattle, he also appreciates he is at one of the bigger clubs in Major League Soccer.

“The club I’m at is a top top club,” he says. “The way it’s run. The fan base it has is comparative to a lot of the top clubs in Europe. There is a myth about coming here when your legs are gone but you’ve got to be fit to play here.”
With Seattle appreciating his athleticism from full-back they are seeing greater benefit from his experience. Teetering on the edge of the play-offs they have been a consistent participant in the post-season since 2009.

Enjoying success already this season by collecting the Cascadia Cup, the former Preston North End defender describes himself as ‘desperate’ to win MLS Cup. Intent on delivering that success to Seattle and the fans he has built a strong bond with, it will represent just another interesting story from a career that has taken him from the north west of England to the north west of America.