It may just be that the most exceptional footballer in the land is not the England captain who has recently signed a £130,000-a-week deal at Chelsea but a slight teenager who wants to shun the bright lights for a piece of the action in West Yorkshire’s coal-mining belt. Meet Duncan Williams.

In an age when football has a get-rich-quick feel about it, this 19-year-old from Leeds sounds a lone voice. Terry is rich beyond his wildest dreams, while David Beckham has spawned an empire founded on the cult of celebrity. Williams plays right midfield for Garforth Town, has turned down advances from Middlesbrough, Everton and Bolton Wanderers and refuses to be paid.

“I want to become the first player in the Premier League who does not have a wage,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right that you get paid for doing something you love when there are people being killed all over the world.”

At the moment, any earnings Williams would normally have collected go towards the Lesonn Foundation, a Leeds-based charity that works with disadvantaged children. Williams does not want to play for clubs such as Middlesbrough because he likes the ethos of Garforth, who promote Brazilian-type, skills-based football.

“I’m thinking about university but want to make sure I can still play for Garforth,” he said. “I’m not interested in money. I love playing. And maybe I can get to the top here.”

His manager believes so. Simon Clifford has made a lot of waves in football for a former primary school teacher. Sir Clive Woodward, the rugby union World Cup-winning coach, hailed him as a visionary when he installed him as his right-hand man for their ill-fated spell at Southampton.

In hindsight, Clifford said that his plans could never have worked at a club with the likes of Harry Redknapp and Dave Bassett in situ. A maverick who owns letters from Winston Churchill, Brian Clough’s desk from the City Ground and Luke Skywalker’s original Land Cruiser, Clifford has made a million from his Brazilian Soccer Schools (BSS) and received endorsements from Sir Trevor Brooking, Michael Owen and Tord Grip.

He has also launched a new football magazine called COIN, an anagram of ICON, the plush Jamie Redknapp version aimed at those who need another Bentley or Dior watch. By contrast, COIN is distributed within The Big Issue. “Clubs will encourage players to go to a hospital or work with children, but the aim is to increase that player’s value,” Clifford said. “It’s not right.”

Williams has bought into the idea. Clifford planned to move him on to a Premier League club, but Williams told him that he was going nowhere. While one of his BSS peers, Micah Richards, went to Manchester City, Williams insists that he will stay at Garforth, who are in the UniBond League first division north.

If the club make it into the Football League – and Clifford believes that they will make the Premier League – Williams said that he will not accept a penny as a salary. When he goes full-time, he will seek sponsorship. “Why should I want a salary out of football?” he said. “I don’t blame Beckham for what he’s doing, but it’s not me.”

It may sound naive, idealistic and unrealistic, but for those who think that football has long sold its soul, this Yorkshire “pauper” may actually be a postmodern prince.

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