ADDICT Michael Chopra has thanked Roy Keane for encouraging him to receive gambling help.
The former Newcastle, Cardiff and Ipswich striker admits he thought about betting ‘as soon as the (final) whistle went’.
Michael Chopra worked with Roy Keane at Sunderland and IpswichCredit: PA:Press Association
The 36-year-old, who played pro football over 16 years, once had to tell his family that his enormous signing-on fee would go towards paying off gambling debts.
But he credits his former Sunderland boss Keane as the catalyst for turning his life around.
Chopra, fronting the new TalkBanStop campaign, said: “Obviously the more money you’re earning, the bigger the bets become.
“Football was my life. I made so many sacrifices, and I wouldn’t let anything stop that.
“But as soon as the whistle went, as soon as I got off the pitch, my mind just suddenly changed and all of a sudden I was just thinking about gambling, and about the horses.
“I’ve set my alarm for 2-3am betting on games in Brazil that I know nothing about and that’s what a gambler does.
“Looking back on it I wonder: ‘How did it all happen.’
“One day I broke down in tears in front of my family and I told them that I had a problem and they were fully supportive.
Chopra, now 36, was a prolific goalscorer at Cardiff CityCredit: PA:Press Association
“They tried to get me help, but I didn’t want any.
“Then I decided to speak to Roy Keane, and he was brilliant.
“I’ve got a lot of time and respect for him because he really took his time away from training to speak to me and ask me how I was, and it was Roy that really got me the help that I needed.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
