The Athletic’s David Ornstein Takes to the Padel Court in New Video Interview Series

The Athletic today announced "Truth or Padel," a new original video series.

Hosted by multi-award-winning football journalist David Ornstein , "Truth or Padel" takes some of football's biggest personalities out of the traditional interview environment and onto the padel court, where competitive instincts, humor and personalities kick in.

Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville, ex-Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere and former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara are among the initial guests who will face Ornstein's questions - and his padel skills.

The premise is simple: Every point has a question riding on it. If Ornstein wins the point, his guest must answer. If the guest wins, they can skip the question. As the rallies unfold and jeopardy increases, Ornstein puts his guests through their paces with a mix of challenging football questions, personal stories and unexpected exchanges. The first episode drops this Saturday, Sept. 26.

"I've spent my career asking footballers difficult questions, but this time they get the chance to fire a few shots back - quite literally," Ornstein said. "Padel brings out a different side of people. The competitive instinct kicks in, the guard comes down and the conversation can go in directions you don't expect. I can't wait for people to see it."

"David was already playing padel with some of football's biggest names, so we thought we'd bring a few cameras along and raise the stakes," said Joe Devine, creator and producer of 'Truth or Padel.' "The series gives us the chance to ask famous football personalities questions we might not ordinarily get to ask."

"Truth or Padel" launches on Saturday, Sept. 26, with Gary Neville appearing in the opening episode.

Full episodes will be available on "The Athletic FC" YouTube channel, with highlights and clips published across The Athletic's social media channels.

New episodes will be released every Saturday for the next four weeks.

David Ornstein joined The Athletic in October 2019 after 12 years as a sports journalist and correspondent at the BBC. In the role of football correspondent, he is responsible for producing exclusive and original stories and interviews, offering unique insight and analysis. He works across video, audio and the written word.

Joe Devine is the creator of Tifo Football and serves as the host of the popular Tifo podcast. He is creator and producer of "Truth or Padel," and has been with The Athletic since Tifo's acquisition in 2020.