At most big football unveilings, the cameras move away from the player for a moment and catch someone in the background. It could be a parent or partner, and the person is clearly happy but also a little overwhelmed by how big everything is. Anne Keating was there when Anthony Gordon was introduced as a new player for FC Barcelona. She was calm and present as she watched the man she has known since they were kids in Liverpool join one of the biggest clubs in the world.
She doesn’t have an open Instagram. She doesn’t do press. In the world Gordon lives in now, that really does say something.
Anthony Gordon is dating Annie Keating, who is from Merseyside and was his childhood sweetheart. They grew up together in Liverpool and have been together for a few years, long enough that she’s been a part of almost every part of his career, not just the exciting ones. She does make-up for a living. She only has a few close friends and doesn’t use public social media. She doesn’t seem to care about the attention that is following Gordon around more and more wherever he goes.
The couple had their first child, a son, in late 2023. Gordon has talked a lot about how family is important, and it’s clear why. His life has changed quickly: he went from Everton’s youth team to Newcastle, then to Barcelona for a reported £69.3 million, and now to a breakthrough World Cup with England, where he made history by becoming the first player in Three Lions history to score multiple goals as a substitute in a knockout match. That’s a lot of rough weather, even if it’s good weather.
In the news about Gordon’s transfer fee, there’s a part of his past that is often missed. As a young player, Liverpool and Everton both let him go. They said it was too small. Not fully developed. Keith and Nadine, his parents, kept him going. Keith is said to have hung a tire from a goalpost in the backyard to help his son practice finishing, which is the kind of hard work that doesn’t show up on a scouting report. Gordon eventually got back on track through youth football, and the rest is history. During those hard times, Keating was a part of Belfast life. That’s more important than it looks.
She keeps a low profile on purpose, which is hard not to notice now that his name has real weight. People have seen her at international games, at his Newcastle debut, and at his Barcelona debut. She is there. You can’t get anyone to pay her to do it. Nowadays, footballer partners are often forced to be part of the content machine. There’s something quiet and deliberate about the way Keating works.
It was also said at the time that there was a moment when, amidst all the professional noise, it felt strangely human. Gordon was told he couldn’t drive, so Keating offered to take him to training. No fuss, it seems. Moving on with it. This is the kind of detail that can tell you more about a relationship than a picture on the red carpet.
We don’t know for sure if she’ll stay in Barcelona, but there are many signs that she will. She stayed with him through his time at Newcastle, his time with England, the birth of their child, and a huge move to Spain. Moving to a new country with a toddler and a partner and then training with some of the best players in the world might be its own kind of adjustment. It’s still not clear what that transition looks like every day. But Gordon goes into it with someone who has been there for him through the hard parts of his story, which is a big deal.
