'Boot boy' gets Mercedes as tip

BIRMINGHAM, England, May 14 (UPI) -- Oliver Kapo's boot boy, James McPike, was hoping for a pair of old boots after a season's service to the British soccer star, but all he got was a new Mercedes.

The car is worth about 30,000 pounds ($60,000), The Daily Mail reported.

McPike is boot boy -- or apprentice player -- with Birmingham City, the team Kapo joined last year after playing for Juventus in Italy. Boot boys, who are paid considerably less than the star players, get a chance to learn the game while performing chores for the players they are assigned to.

A source on the team told the newspaper McPike specifically asked for a pair of boots as an end-of-season thank you.

"He was obviously disappointed when Kapo replied he had taken them home with him," the source said. "He perked up considerably when he was tossed a set of keys."

Kapo drove McPike to his house, gave him the paperwork on the car and told him he would pay the insurance for a year.

Alex McLeish, the team manager, said he was touched by the "magnificent gesture." He also asked Kapo if he had any plans for the house he still owns in Turin "but he only smiled."