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Nov 07, 2023

John Souttar on his tattoo tribute to late brother Aaron as Rangers star says memory 'inspires' him every day

Ibrox ace Souttar insists Aaron's death put life in perspective and speaks about

Ibrox ace Souttar insists Aaron's death put life in perspective and speaks about his pride in watching Harry Souttar at the World Cup

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Brother. Hero. Best mate.

Those were the words John Souttar used to describe older sibling, Aaron, after he tragically passed away at just 42 years of age. Now, you can add another one. Inspiration.

Every day he’ll look at the tattoo on his left bicep and feel it. Motivated to be the best he can be. Energised to live life to the full. And hugely influenced by the face staring back at him. Souttar has been through a lot as a footballer already. The Rangers and Scotland centre-back has shown incredible mental strength to battle back from serious injuries. But he’ll never complain or feel sorry for himself. And that's down to his big brother.

Aaron fought against Motor Neurone Disease to the death. Yet John and his other brother, Harry, never heard him moan once.

That's REAL mental strength, real resilience. And it will help shape both of their characters for the rest of their careers, whatever they go on to achieve.

The Ibrox defender has spoken for the first time about the devastating loss he suffered on Sunday 17 July. Just two weeks later, Souttar played for Rangers in their opening Premiership game of the season at Livingston.

And it was some time after that when he paid tribute to Aaron in an emotional Facebook post, following the family's announcement that he’d lost his life.

Souttar now has permanent ink on his arm with his brother's date of birth and the words ‘Live Forever’ next to Aaron. His whole family has played a major part in getting John to where he is today.

But when it comes to his mindset and mentality? What Aaron went through will always help him to put football - and life - in perspective.

Souttar said: "I definitely get my resilience from my family and what my older brother went through. That puts everything into perspective for myself and Harry.

"The injuries that Aaron suffered compared to us? And there wasn't one day where he sat and complained about anything in life. So for us to get a football injury, how could we complain about anything?

"When he's sitting there still laughing and joking. Every day we would look at him and think: ‘How can he go through this and not complain for two years’?

"Yeah, we might have a bad knee or a bad achilles. But we couldn't complain when we were going through that. He inspires me every day.

"We were going to get the tattoos done together but when Harry got his, I was going in for an operation. But I finally got the chance to get it. It's just something for Aaron, he’ll always be there, always be with me.

"He was there when I signed for Rangers and he was absolutely buzzing. He came into the Blue Room at Ibrox and things like that.

"Now, he’ll always be with me - and Harry too - for every big moment in our lives. Aaron was my hero growing up. He still is. He was a hero to both of us, really. He's in our thoughts every day and everything we do now is to make him proud."

Just like in the Blue Room that day, Aaron would also be feeling immensely proud of what his two brothers have achieved in the game so far. None more so than Harry playing at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for adopted country, Australia, a few months ago.

The former Dundee United kid was a stand-out for the Socceroos as they reached the knock-out stages of the tournament. John didn't make it out to the Middle East as he recovered from an ankle injury at Rangers.

But he watched every minute of it and off the back of Harry's performances, he earned a dream £15 million move from Stoke to Premier League side Leicester City. The fact that he’d just returned after almost a year out with an ACL knee injury himself, makes that all the more impressive.

And John couldn't be any happier for him. He said: "It was amazing to watch him do what he did after being out for that length of time.

"He had two games for Stoke then went to the World Cup and played like that. It was incredible. I was just so proud watching him. It's an unbelievable achievement for anyone to do that, never mind your own brother.

"All the family were over in Qatar but I never got out myself. To watch it from home was unbelievable. In every performance, he was outstanding for Australia.

"He took his game to another level out there and deserved his move. Now, it's amazing to watch him in the Premier League every week with Leicester.

"I couldn't be prouder of him. He's gone on to be successful when there were times he was probably thinking: ‘No chance, I’m miles off it here, I’m never going to get anywhere’.

"I’m sure Harry was in that position. If you told him six months on from his ACL, he’d be playing in the Premier League with Leicester having played at a World Cup, I don't think he’d have believed you. That's a lesson for everyone in life. If you go through tough spells, the good times will come if you stick at it."

Now the pressure is on John to go and emulate Harry and play at the World Cup for Scotland. Could they even face each other in America, Canada and Mexico in 2026?

They would both fancy that. But for now, Souttar insists they’re happy to push each other on to have the best possible careers. John said: "Souttar v Souttar at the World Cup in 2026? That would be good. You never know - hopefully.

"But there isn't any competition between us. Maybe there was when we were younger! Now that we’re older we’re just appreciative of the level we’ve both got to. We push each other on to an extent. It's more about being supportive and always being there for each other."