What Is The Aaron Ramsey Curse & Is It Real? All Celebrities Who Have Died After Cardiff Manager & Former Arsenal Star Scored

The infamous ‘Aaron Ramsey curse’ provoked the death of a handful of celebrities over the years – see here a list of the most notable ings after the new Cardiff City manager scored a goal.

Ramsey is back in the news – luckily for positive reasons – following his appointment as Cardiff interim manager in the wake of Omer Riza’s dismissal on 19th April.

The move looks a Hail Mary from club owners as 23rd-place Cardiff look to complete the great escape and avoid relegation from the Championship. Ramsey was appointed caretaker manager with three games to go, with survival looking unlikely.

Ramsey re-ed his boyhood club in summer 2023 after a decorated career which included successful spells at Arsenal and Juventus but injuries have stunted his playing time.

What Is The Aaron Ramsey Curse?

The ‘Aaron Ramsey curse’ – better described as a mysterious theory – surrounds the idea that when the Welshman scores the goal, a well-known celebrity is doomed to die soon after.

Ramsey has quite the prolific strike rate. Across 79 career goals, around 27 have been followed by a major celebrity death (34%).

The ‘curse’ is more than likely simply a matter of coincidence, but that hasn’t stopped the internet running away with the idea that Ramsey’s goals are directly responsible for these unfortunate events.

You do wonder whether this supposed curse was ever on the mind of Ramsey himself each time he scored a goal.

Aaron Ramsey Curse Meaning

Although just a sheer coincidence that around 27 celebrities have died shortly after the 34-year-old scored a goal, some people actually believe that the Aaron Ramsey curse is a real thing.

Not every goal Ramsey scored during his career resulted in a celebrity death, but around 34% actually did. Again, this is likely just a massive coincidence, but you have to it that it quite an alarmingly high figure.

The meaning of the Aaron Ramsey curse is evidently that somebody famous or well known will die shortly after the Welshman nets a goal.

With Ramsey now caretaker manager of Cardiff City and on the side line for the remainder of the season, any celebrity death from now until the next time Ramsey scores cannot be blamed on him.

Is The Aaron Ramsey Curse Real?

Although the Aaron Ramsey curse is actually an infamous curse that results in the death of a famous figure, the curse cannot be deemed real but rather just a massive coincidence, right?

If the Aaron Ramsey curse was real, then surely a famous celebrity would have died shortly after all 79 of his career goals.

Although you may get some people who do genuinely believe the Aaron Ramsey curse is real, it is more likely that it is purely coincidental and the timing of the Welshman’s goals during his playing days were just unfortunate.

Aaron Ramsey Curse: Which Celebrities Died After Aaron Ramsey Goals?

1. Ted Kennedy (August 25, 2009)

A member of the well-known Kennedy family, former US Senate politician Ted Kennedy died on August 25, 2009 – three days after Ramsey scored in the Premier League against Portsmouth.

2. Andres Monte (October 16, 2009)

Spanish journalist Andres Monte died on October 16, 2009 – two days after Ramsey scored his first international goal for Wales in a World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein.

3. Osama Bin Laden (May 2, 2011)

Al-Qaeda founder and Saudi Arabian militant leader Osama Bin Laden was killed by US special operations forces on May 2, 2011 – a day after Ramsey scored the winning goal against Manchester United.

4. Steve Jobs (October 5, 2011)

Co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011 – three days after Ramsey scored against Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby.

5. Muammar Gaddafi (October 20, 2011)

Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was assassinated by rebel forces on October 20, 2011 – a day after Ramsey scored the winner for Arsenal against Marseille in the Champions League.

6. Whitney Houston (February 11, 2012)

Beloved American singer, actress and philanthropist Whitney Houston ed away on February 11, 2012 – a day after Ramsey found the back of the net against Sunderland.

7. Ray Williams (March 22, 2013) and 8. Boris Berezovsky (March 23, 2013)

Ramsey’s deadliest goal yet arrived on March 22, 2013 in Wales’ 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Scotland which was soon followed by the death of NBA star Ray Williams.

A day later on March 23, Russian business oligarch Boris Berezovsky died.

9. Ken Norton (September 18, 2013)

American professional boxer Ken Norton, who previously held the world heavyweight championship title, died on September 18, 2013 after Ramsey scored the winner against Marseille in the Champions League.

10. Paul Walker (November 30, 2013)

Best known for his role in the Fast & Furious film franchise, Paul Walker died on November 30, 2013 – the same day Ramsey found the back of the net twice against Cardiff.

11. Rubin Carter (April 20, 2014)

American-Canadian middleweight boxer Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter died on April 20, 2014, the same day Ramsey scored and assisted against Hull City.

12. Robin Williams (August 11, 2014)

American actor and comedian Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014. The following day, Ramsey scored and assisted in Arsenal’s Community Shield triumph against Manchester City.

13. David Bowie (January 10, 2016)

One of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, David Bowie died on January 10, 2016, a day after Ramsey scored in Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Sunderland.

14. Alan Rickman (January 14, 2016)

This was quite an eventful few days for Ramsey who scored again and assisted against Liverpool on January 13, followed by the death of English actor and director Alan Rickman the next day.

15. Nancy Reagan (March 6, 2016)

Wife of Ronald, Nancy Reagan was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and died on March 6, 2016. This was just one day after Ramsey scored against Spurs.

16. Nicky Hayden (May 22, 2017) and 17. Roger Moore (May 23, 2017)

MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden died on May 22, 2017. This was just one day after Ramsey scored against Everton.

Roger Moore featured as James Bond in seven different films and died on May 23, 2017, two days after the same goal.

18. Gregg Allman (May 27, 2017)

American singer and songwriter Gregg Allman, who performed in the Allman Brothers Band, died the same day Ramsey scored against Chelsea in the FA Cup final on May 27, 2017.

19. Bruce Forsyth (August 18, 2017)

English entertainer and television personality Bruce Forsyth, well-known for co-presenting Strictly Come Dancing, died a week after Ramsey scored against Leicester.

20. Ken Dodd (March 9, 2018) and 21. Stephen Hawking (March 14, 2018)

Ramsey scored against AC Milan in the Europa League on March 8, 2018. Shortly after we saw the deaths of Ken Dodd – a comedian, best known for his stand-up – and Stephen Hawking occur one and six days later respectively.

Stephen Hawking was a famous physicist and regarded as one of the greatest academic minds on the planet.

22. Eric Bristow (April 5, 2018)

Ramsey netted twice in the Europa League against CSKA Moscow on April 5, 2018 and the same day, former darts world number one Eric Bristow ed away.

23. Burt Reynolds (September 6, 2018)

American actor Burt Reynolds died on September 6, 2018, the same day Ramsey scored for Wales against Ireland in the UEFA Nations Leagye.

24. Keith Flint and 25. Luke Perry (March 4, 2019)

Two days after Ramsey scored against Tottenham, vocalist of electronic dance act The Prodigy, Keith Flint, died.

American actor Luke Perry, who starred on Riverdale and featured with guest roles on shows like The Simpsons, also died the same day.

26. Kenneth Kaunda (June 17, 2021)

Two days after Ramsey scored for Wales against Turkey at Euro 2020, the first president of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda died.

27. June Brown (April 4, 2022)

Best known for her role in Eastenders, English actress June Brown died on April 4, 2022, a day after Ramsey scored for Rangers in the Old Firm against Celtic.

28. Olivia Newton-John (August 8, 2022)

Ramsey scored on his debut for Nice against Toulouse on August 7, 2022. Just a day later, Grease star Olivia Newton-John ed away.

29. Steve Harwell (September 4, 2023)

Ramsey scored for Cardiff against Ipswich Town on September 2, 2023. Two days later, famous Smash Mouth lead vocalist Steve Harwell died.