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    Ex-Arsenal cult icon Nicklas Bendtner in shock career change after taking up new hobby during Covid lockdown

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    ARSENAL cult hero Nicklas Bendtner has launched his own gaming company.Bendtner, 36, rolled credits on his turbulent football career in 2019 and is now set for a completely different endeavour.Arsenal cult hero Nicklas Bendtner started his own gaming groupCredit: AFPBendtner spent nine turbulent years with ArsenalCredit: Getty – ContributorAccording to Esports Insider, the former striker created his own group that he calls Legendary Gaming Group.This comes after the ex-Denmark international spent the Covid-19 pandemic playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.Bendtner said, “My own role in the company will be an active one, but what the exact title will be is not 100% decided yet, as it also depends on what roles the other sports profiles coming in will have.”The ex-Arsenal ace propped up a website alongside Morten Jensen, Atle Stehouer, Stephen Shine, and Jonas Rosbech.Read More on ArsenalThe site says: “Legendary Gaming Group offers a premier esports experience, blending elite talent development, cutting-edge scouting, and thrilling events. “We collaborate with top brands, NGOs, and sponsors to create impactful partnerships. “Join us to elevate your gaming journey and be part of the future of esports innovation.”Bendtner joined Arsenal’s academy in 2004 from Kjobenhavns Boldklub at the age of 16.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSThe controversial forward earned a senior call-up in 2005 and went on to amass a total of 47 goals and 22 assists in 171 appearances with the Gunners.The Dane played for the likes of Birmingham, Sunderland and Juventus on loan during his nine-year stint with the North Londoners.Ex-Arsenal striker Bendtner shows off new look in shock appearance in Denmark World Cup 2022 squad announcement video Bendtner also played for Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest, Rosenborg and Copenhagen before his early retirement at the age of 31. More

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      Bitter 50-year feud between two football clubs 200 miles apart with ‘lockdown’ youths fuelling new wave of hooliganism

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      TWO Football League clubs have formed an unlikely bitter feud stretching back 50 years – despite being 200 miles apart.Geography is the usually the predominant cause of a rivalry, with hatred instilled within fans from a young age.Cops broke up a brawl between youths ahead of the Coventry and Sunderland gameCredit: Channel 4A pitch invader is tackled by stewards after running onto the field with a flareCredit: Channel 4Sunderland fans clashing with police following their match with CoventryCredit: Channel 4Cops patrolling the Coventry and Sunderland gameBased hundreds of miles apart, Sunderland and Coventry City had an indifferent opinion of each other for much of their respective existences.But the two Football League clubs have maintained a deep hatred for each other since the final day of the 1976/77 season.The teams were not playing against each other, but were vying for safety in the top-flight of English football.As is customary on the final day, the games had been scheduled to kick off at the same time.Read more footballBut owing to traffic congestion outside Coventry’s Highfield Stadium, then director Jimmy Hill delayed the start of his club’s game by 15 minutes to allow fans of the home side time to make into the ground.Sunderland ultimately lost to Everton 2-0 on the day, with the result being broadcast mid-game for all to hear at Coventry.Coventry’s encounter with Bristol City subsequently petered out into a 2-2 draw with both sides knowing a point was enough to keep them up – and so little effort was made to score.It meant Sunderland were relegated out of the top-flight and would remain in the second division for three years.Most read in FootballFifty years later, the rivalry between the clubs remains just as intense.New Channel 4 documentary Football Cops follows police as they work to prevent outbreaks of violence at matches across England.Watch footballer punch rival in furious fit of rage as fans demand lifetime ban for moment of madnessThe series opener on Monday night showed Dedicated Football Officers (DFOs) fighting an uphill battle while patrolling Coventry and Sunderland fans during the 2022/23 season.But many leading the chaos weren’t born when the infamous incident occurred.Instead, police found themselves breaking up a group of youths brawling in a car park in close proximity to the ground.It comes as an expert warned a “lockdown generation” of youngsters are fuelling a return of hooliganism across Britain.Geoff Pearson, professor of law at the University of Manchester, has suggested older family members would usually set boundaries for acceptable behaviour when attending games.But he said boys stuck in lockdown had missed out on this step and are now rushing to stadiums together.He told MailOnline: “If you think of how fan communities work when you don’t have lockdowns, young fans go with family members, who at points will make interventions and draw the line about what is acceptable. “During lockdown these young fans were set at home. So you had a sudden rush of young, new fans rushing into stadiums at the same time.”Ahead of the fixture, DFOs had positioned themselves around local pubs to prevent away fans from entering.One officer told the show that away fans outnumbering home supporters in a pub is seen as “a big thing”.Cops also followed a group of 70 youths as they chanted expletive-filled songs before the match.Once inside the stadium, DFOs spotted a fan with a blue flare, who then sprinted onto the pitch waving it around.The man was subsequently arrested and handed a four-year football banning order.But the violence continued after the game as Sunderland fans became enraged and knocked down a barrier as they were taunted by Coventry supporters.It comes as football-related arrests have reached their highest level for nine years.The latest data shows there were 2,264 football-related arrests across the 2022/23 season.READ MORE SUN STORIESThere was also the highest number of new football banning orders for a decade, with 682 issued.The majority of banning orders were handed to men aged between 18 and 34, figures show.Then Coventry City manager Jimmy Hill signing autographs for young fans in August 1967Credit: GettyAmad Diallo of Sunderland scores the only goal during the match between Coventry and Sunderland at the Coventry Building Society Arena on February 25, 2023Credit: GettyPolice officers on the pitch during the disorder at West Brom vs Wolves in the FA Cup in JanuaryCredit: PAJonny Sunley (DFO Carlisle United), Stu Spencer “Cardio” (DFO Coventry City), Wayne Mitchell (National DFO UK Football Policing Unit), Jessy Sorrell (Operational Football Officer or “Spotter” Ipswich Town) and Rickie Wallbank (DFO Brrow AFC)Credit: Patch Dolan / Channel 4 More

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      in Athletics

      Paris Olympics to lift sex ban with 300,000 condoms to be delivered to Olympic village

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      OLYMPIC chiefs have lifted the ban on athletes having sex ahead of this summer’s Games.A sex suspension was implemented ahead of the 2020 Games Tokyo, which took place in the summer of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.The 2024 Olympic Games take place in Paris this summerCredit: ALAMYOlympic chiefs have lifted the sex ban they had in place for the 2024 GamesCredit: REUTERSThe ban was imposed in a bid to stop events from being scuppered by Covid outbreaks.But those preventative measures have been lifted ahead of this summer’s Games in Paris – meaning athletes can get up to as much rumpy-pumpy as they like.Olympic Village director Laurent Michaud said: “It is very important that the conviviality here is something big.”Working with the athletes commission, we wanted to create some places where the athletes would feel very enthusiastic and comfortable.”READ MORE ON PARIS 2024The Olympic Village , according to TMZ, will be stocked with a whopping 300,000 free condoms.So athletes will have no excuse for not practicing safe sex during the tournament.There won’t, however, be any free champers for them to drink during the competition.Although they will have a wide array of food from around the globe available to them every day.Most read in AthleticsCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSThe Olympic Village will be stocked with 300,000 free condomsCredit: GETTYFormer Center Parcs head-honcho Michaud said: “[There will be no champagne in the village, of course, but they can have all the champagne they want also in Paris.”We will have more than 350 metres of buffet with the world food.We’re twin sisters, 27, who both secretly battled same disease… now we’re plotting Olympic gold at Paris 2024 together”And I’m sure that the athletes will be very happy to have some French specialties made over here.”But the variety will first respond to the athletes’ needs for their nutrition and their performance.”The Paris Games – which get underway on July 26 and end on August 11 – are expected to attract the largest crowds since London 2012.Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi told Sky News: “It has to be a celebration and it is a celebration.”We’ve had many challenges in the past. “In Rio, we faced situations that were amazingly complex.”But what you see is that with a bit of goodwill from everyone – starting with the organisers.”But also as far as the Olympic community is concerned – meeting with the challenges and coming up with solutions… is in the greater interest that the Games represent.READ MORE SUN STORIES”What we all want is for unity, peace and a celebration of the best athletes. “This is how this creative family works together. Any challenge? We will win.” More

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      Marcus Rashford developed his taste for tequila after watching Netflix drama Narcos in lockdown

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      FOOTIE ace Marcus Rashford developed his taste for tequila after bingeing on hit series NarcosThe Manchester United star phoned in sick for training after a bender last week.
      Marcus Rashford developed his taste for tequila after bingeing on hit series NarcosCredit: Getty
      The Man United star phoned in sick for training after a bender last weekCredit: The Sun
      Rashford went for drinks at Lavery’s after arriving in Belfast
      A waitress said he asked for tequila with his lunch
      And he brought out his own bottle for dinner.
      We can reveal he started buying the Mexican hard stuff during lockdown, as he watched the Netflix drama based on Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar
      A source said: “Marcus loved Narcos and would binge-watch it, like lots of people.
      Read More on Football
      “He saw episodes where they were drinking tequila and thought he’d give it a try so he began ordering on the internet.
      “He got a taste for it and started buying really expensive bottles, spending thousands having them imported from the US and Mexico.”
      Rashford’s favourite brands of tequila, made from the blue agave plant growing in the Mexican desert, include £50 to £80 bottles of Artenom Seleccion de 1146 and Patron.
      He was dropped for Sunday’s FA Cup win at Newport and fined two weeks’ wages of £650,000.
      Most read in Football
      But he was back for last night’s Prem match at Wolves and was soon on target, scoring after just four minutes.
      Warning by Gazza
      By Joe Morgan
      PAUL Gascoigne has warned Rashford to avoid the road he went down.Gazza, 56, battled with booze during his career.
      He said he was a fan of Marcus but “you can tell things are just not right for him right now”.
      He said: “I’d say to him, ‘Don’t make the same mistakes as me’. He may need the help of the players around him, the staff to bring him round.
      “Marcus is earning a fortune at one of the biggest clubs in the world, and everyone thinks you do not have a care in the world. But the ­pressure is not always easy.”

      Rashford started buying the Mexican hard stuff as he watched Narcos based on Colombian drug lord Pablo EscobarCredit: Netflix
      Rashford,’s favourite brands include £50-£80 bottles of Artenom Seleccion de 1146 and Patron More

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      in Soccer

      Kyle Walker’s most shameful moments from flashing in Manchester bar to being kicked out by Annie over Bentley romps

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      ENGLAND star Kyle Walker has been embroiled in a number of off-pitch controversies during his career.The Manchester City defender, 33, has won five Premier League titles, represented England on 81 times and won a historic treble last year.
      Manchester City ace Kyle Walker in action for Man CityCredit: Getty
      Annie looking on during the World Cup in Russia in June 2018Credit: Getty
      Walker and Annie pictured together on holidayCredit: Tim Stewart
      But away from his achievements on the field, he has been involved in a lockdown-breaching threesome and was last year seen flashing a woman in a bar.
      The England ace has now been dumped by long-suffering wife Annie, 30, and is no longer living at their £3.5million home in Cheshire.
      In a statement posted, Annie said: “I am posting this in response to growing recent media enquiries about my marriage to Kyle and in an effort to protect my family against the intensity of the media spotlight.
      “Sadly, after many years of marriage and three wonderful children together, I have decided to take some time away from Kyle. I do not wish to comment on the position any further.
      Read more sport
      “For now, I ask that the privacy of myself and our 3 young children is respected during this difficult time.”
      The couple, who have three children together and met as teenagers, have seen their marriage dogged by multiple scandals and infidelities involving Walker.
      Walker’s repeated romps in Bentley
      Annie and Kyle were childhood sweethearts and have been dating for more than a decade.
      But in 2019 he was booted out of their Cheshire home after Ex On The Beach star Laura Brown said they repeatedly romped in his £200k Bentley in 2019.
      Most read in Football
      Their secret trysts were uncovered when Laura said she decided to message Annie.
      Walker subsequently had to move into a £8,000-a-month flat around 20 miles away.
      Laura told a pal she first met Walker on a night out in Manchester.
      Influencer fling
      Walker rekindled his relationship with Annie following his romps with Laura after she decided to give him a second chance.
      But he was given the boot for a second time months later.
      The £160,000-a-week footballer then also had a fling with influencer Lauryn Goodman, 32, before she became pregnant by him in March 2020.
      Annie had no knowledge of the fling until he called her to confess to the one-night stand.
      She also recently gave birth to a second child, a baby girl.
      It has not been revealed who the dad is, but her friends believe it is a footballer.
      In September Kyle had bought her a £2.5m seaside mansion to live in with her two children.
      Annie told pals at the time that their relationship was over and met lawyers to hammer out a settlement with the star because they weren’t married.
      In an astonishing interview with The Sun in June 2020, Annie said Kyle’s infidelity became “acceptable” during their turbulent 11-year relationship.
      And the pair subsequently got back together and tied the knot in 2021.
      Lockdown threesome
      Kyle breached lockdown rules by hosting a sex party with a friend and two call girls at the flat he was staying at.
      One of the escorts revealed how the footballer invited them for a three-hour sex session.
      The defender is said to have partied with Louise McNamara, 21, and a 24-year-old ­Brazilian call girl after he and a male pal invited them to his apartment in Hale, Cheshire.
      In a statement at the time, Kyle said: “I want to take this opportunity to issue a public apology for the choices I made.”
      Manchester City also later issued a statement which said: “We are disappointed to hear the allegations, note Kyle’s swift statement and apology, and will be conducting an internal disciplinary procedure in the coming days.”

      Kyle’s bar flash
      Following his wedding two years earlier, the City star was seen on exposing himself in a bar and snogging a woman.
      Kyle dirty-danced with the woman — not his wife — and a female friend after he arrived drunk and boozed with male pals in March last year.
      Footage seen by The Sun showed the boozed-up footballer drop his tracksuit bottoms and expose himself in view of drinkers.
      READ MORE SUN STORIES
      He subsequently voluntarily attended a police station for an interview for indecent exposure.
      Kyle was later dealt with for being drunk and disorderly following a review of all the available evidence.
      The footie star was also caught snogging a blonde in a 90-minute shocker in a Manchester bar last year More

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      in Soccer

      I worked in McDonald’s after leaving uni – now I make six-figure salary after turning football side hustle into my job

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      OLLIE JENKS has come up trumps after turning his love of football nostalgia into a lucrative career selling player cards.Rather than get his stickers in a twist during the Covid lockdown, he used the extra time online to collect them and become a TikTok phenomenon.
      Cards for players like Beckham and Messi fetch huge sumsCredit: TikTok @paolo.panini
      Ollie Jenks’ finds from around the world go back six decadesCredit: TikTok @paolo.panini
      The former University of Surrey media student, 32, has unearthed a David Beckham Rookie card from 1996 worth £7,000 and also sold a Grade 10 signed Lionel Messi card for £3k.
      Ollie, from Devon, worked in McDonalds when he had little idea what career to pursue.
      But then his addiction to footie facts and figures took him back to the future – via vintage cards and stickers.
      Ollie fronts told card-breaking channel Paolo Panini, whose posts include a four-hour live stream on Friday that averages 35,000 viewers.
      READ MORE TOP FOOTBALL
      He told SPORTbible: “We grew quite rapidly over the first six months… in the first year, our sales were around the £300,000 mark.”
      And he revealed how his obsession set in at school where he beat all the teachers in the Fantasy Football Leagues – eventually emerging as a vocation where he searches for tiny pictures from the past.
      Ollie said: “My earliest memory is going to a swap shop at Exeter’s Westpoint Arena for the 1998 Premier League sticker album
      “It was a bit of a weird experience as it was in a giant cowshed. The idea of the event was to swap your duplicates for ones you need, but it stank of cow c**p, to be honest.
      Most read in Football
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      “I also fell in love with the story arcs of a player’s ups and downs throughout their career, especially in the ’90s or ’00s, when it felt like anything could happen.”
      He finally settled in Dublin, working with foreign students – only for Covid to force him into new ideas.
      He said: “I wanted to combine my love of storytelling and what I knew about ’00s football, so Team Of Our Lives was born – a niche 2000s-based football podcast.”
      In particular, Ollie switched from making short football documentaries on YouTube to an even more popular form of social media in 2020.
      He said: “I uploaded a few of those vintage pack-opening videos from the podcast to TikTok and it blew up.
      “Seeing so many people interested in football nostalgia was huge, and with some modern rare cards going for big money I attempted to make a living out of it.”
      Ollie now calls himself a Football Treasure Hunter and explained: “Some of the greatest players such as Pele have football cards that could be worth as much as $1.3million (about £1m).
      “So there is real value to be had in finding rare packs that have been sealed for 50 years and potentially finding some footballing history – that’s why I love it so much.”

      He reckons the most expensive packs currently in circulation are from the 1970 World Cup – including late legends Sir Bobby Charlton, Eusebio and Pele, plus Franz Beckenbauer.
      A complete album from that tournament in Mexico recently sold at auction for more than £2k. More

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      I’m an Arsenal U21 star who was making six figures as a 16 year old… but not from football

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      REUELL WALTERS is a whizkid on the pitch and online – after raking in £10,000 a night from Fortnite aged just 16.The Arsenal Under-21 star found an incredible way to help his friends AND his bank balance.
      Reuell Walters made a small fortune thanks to Fortnite after joining ArsenalCredit: Getty
      The ex-Tottenham schoolboy, now 18, devised a map for the popular video game during the coronavirus lockdown.
      And it was so lucrative that the England Under-19 defender’s first tax bill was into SIX FIGURES!
      It’s also estimated his map was used 250million times in one week.
      And as the Londoner gets a royalty fee every time it’s played, that meant his nightly earnings peaked at 10,000 to 15,000 dollars (£8k to £12k).
      READ MORE TOP STORIES
      In a video posted by 101GreatGoals, linking to UnderArmour, Walters said: “Obviously we weren’t allowed to leave our homes so I picked up a different hobby where everyone loves the game.
      I think as a teenage boy I was playing Fortnite with my friends and they were talking to me about how they just wanted to play this game mode and how it hadn’t been made before.
      “So I just decided, you know, I’ll make something for them to play.”
      He added: “It was probably one of the first things that was made in lockdown.
      Most read in Football
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      “It was not viral but you know people started to play with other people and you know it started to take off from there.”
      Now the right-back is hoping for the same lift-off for his football career – as he dreams of nearing the first-team squad this season. More

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      in Boxing

      I’m Anthony Joshua’s rival and saw Chinese pals attacked over Covid but nobody dared target me due to my mammoth size

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      ZHILEI ZHANG saw Chinese compatriots getting attacked in New York during the Covid-19 pandemic but was too big for the cowards to target.The Beijing 2008 Olympic silver winner trains as a pro in New Jersey and has adopted the US as a second home.
      Zhilei Zhang opened up on how he saw Chinese compatriots being attacked in New YorkCredit: PA
      But when coronavirus gripped the world – and ex-president Donald Trump made a series of allegations against China – 39-year-old Zhang felt like the enemy in the Land of Opportunity.
      Thankfully life is almost back to normal and Zhang was welcomed to London last week to take on Putney’s 37-year-old Juggernaut Joe Joyce at the Copper Box on Saturday.
      Recalling the torrid time his innocent fellow expats faced, the softly spoken giant told SunSport: “We saw people getting pushed on the subway in New York City.
      “I would probably never become a target in the street, because of my size, but I do have Chinese friends and business owners in New York who have been targeted.
      READ MORE IN BOXING
      “These people have suffered, not just financially but also mentally and emotionally.
      “I don’t think it is the right thing to do, I don’t agree with politicising the pandemic, it should not be used as something to attack people.
      “People and human beings are innocent, nobody wants anyone to be sick, suffer or be infected.
      “Nobody wanted the virus and nobody wanted the impact it has had on the world.
      Most read in Boxing
      “Thankfully now we are moving on and getting back to living our lives in a positive way.”
      With China being the cradle of martial arts and boxing coming under that huge and money-spinning umbrella, it’s strange that 6ft 6in Zhang remains a rarity.
      But the 24-1-1 southpaw explains very wisely why a population of 1.4billion people have ZERO world boxing champions and just a few Asian fighters, largely representing Japan in the lightest weight classes.
      “When I got the silver medal in 2008, boxing was still a minor sport in China,” he said.
      “In China the major sports are diving, table tennis and soccer. Even after I got my silver medal I didn’t get recognised a lot. But I know what I have achieved and how far I have come.
      “Last time I fought in Las Vegas, my fight got 60 million views in China, that was record-breaking and historic, so I hope my career is helping make boxing a bigger success in China.
      “Maybe there are a couple of reasons why boxing and Asian countries haven’t really taken off.
      “One might be Geography, Asia is a pretty remote region, cut away from the likes of Europe and the Americas.
      Zhang won a silver medal at the 2008 OlympicsCredit: PA
      “Also Asian guys are traditionally smaller guys, so we have stars like Manny Pacquiao but they operate in the smaller divisions, which don’t get as much attention as the bigger guys from around middleweight and above.
      “I am not from a big family at all, it really is just me! My parents are just average sized”.
      Before Anthony Joshua agreed to fight Jermaine Franklin in his comeback bout in April 1, promoter Eddie Hearn teased the idea of taking him on a round-the-world tour and facing Zhang at the iconic 80,000 seat Bird’s Nest Stadium.
      Sadly it was another bluff but Zhang hopes our London 2012 legend is not getting written off by the British public he won over so spectacularly over the last decade.
      “We talked about something but it was premature,” Zhang confirmed.
      “Maybe after two losses to Usyk he is scared of southpaws forever now?
      “But I don’t think there is any fear among the top boxers – in any division – I believe that we are all fighters who want the biggest and best fights.
      “But I do believe and understand how promoters and broadcasters want to protect their investments, they are the ones who are scared of a loss.
      “Joshua has lost a few times but look at his wins, the respect is there.
      Read More on The Sun
      “I don’t think Joshua fears anyone but I think the business people and investors in him are protecting their career with smart business moves.
      “He might have lost some confidence but I think he deserves time and recognition.” More

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      I got so anxious after Boris’ Covid alerts I blew family’s £160k house deposit betting on table tennis, says Paul Merson

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      GAMBLING addict Paul Merson grew so anxious after Boris Johnson’s daily Covid updates  during lockdown  he visited an online bookie – and blew his family’s £160,000 deposit for a new home  betting on table tennis.The ex-Arsenal and England footballer had frittered away £7million on gambling, alcohol and drugs during his long years of addiction, but believed he had finally turned a corner and was in recovery.
      Paul Merson has frittered away £7million on gambling, alcohol and drugs during his long years of addictionCredit: BBC / Little Gem Media Ltd. / Ch
      During lockdown, Covid updates sent his anxiety through the roofCredit: Reuters
      It culminated in him betting on table tennis, losing £160,000 he and his wife Kate had saved up for a house depositCredit: AFP
      Then, in early 2020, the pandemic hit, and by August 27, Sky Sports Soccer Saturday pundit Paul had spent the entire deposit and was feeling suicidal.
      He has now revealed he is banned from all betting companies, and believes his third wife Kate will leave him if he relapses again.
      Speaking from his rented South West London home, the dad of eight told The Sun on Sunday: “I was on furlough from Sky Sports and at first I enjoyed the lockdown.
      “I was in the garden with my youngest kids and the sun was out. But then I started getting addicted to bulletins when Boris Johnson and the bloke with the red tie came out.
      Read more on Paul Merson
      “My anxiety kicked in and I thought, ‘They’re not going to have Soccer Saturday any more’.
      “I was thinking, ‘I’m not going to be able to earn anything’. My older kids’ mums have houses and I want to give my younger kids a future.
      “Kate and I had £160,000 saved up and I blew it in a few bets. It was all online, but it wasn’t a bookmaker, it was a private bookie.”
      ‘WAGES GO TO MY WIFE’
      The only sports being played at the time were table tennis tournaments and golf.
      Most read in The Sun
      Paul, 54, said: “My last bet was eight grand on a table tennis player. I didn’t have a particular knowledge of table tennis but everything was locked down at that point, so there wasn’t much to bet on.
      “When I got to that point it was just a total chase-up to try and get my money back, which is a prime example of a compulsive gambler.
      “That was my last eight grand but when I’m in the grip of it, I lose all sense of rationale.”
      He added: “I remember sitting in my front room and having suicidal thoughts and my kids were playing and I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’ve just done everything in’.
      “That was eating me up for a week. At that moment I was just thinking, ‘What’s the point of me being here? What’s the point of me being on this earth? I’m just getting in the way, and I’ve let my kids down for the umpteenth time’.
      “I was looking at my children and I hadn’t even told their mum yet that I’d done the money. And when I told her she went ballistic.”
      Paul, whose first two marriages crumbled due to his addictions, was terrified he would lose the third. Yet despite her anger, Kate, whose maternal grandfather was also a gambler, forgave Paul, though she immediately took control of the family finances.
      Paul, who has 21 England caps, said: “My wages go to my wife and I have pocket money.
      “Now I thank God she’s in charge and I’m blocked from all betting companies, so I couldn’t gamble, even if I wanted to.”
      Since his relapse Paul has become an ambassador for addiction support app Recoverlution, which offers addicts the comfort of a 24/7 digital community.
      He said: “I know my addiction is waiting, and that does scare me. I got involved with this because I know that you can put off going to an Alcoholics Anonymous or Gamblers Anonymous meeting if it’s raining or you’re tired.
      “With Recoverlution there’s no excuse, you’ve got your laptop or your iPhone or whatever. And it’s there 24/7 and connects to all around the world. I think that’s an important thing — you can get help in the middle of the night.”
      Paul joined Arsenal in 1985 and won two Football League Championships, an FA Cup, the Football League Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup with them.
      Paul believes his third wife Kate will leave him if he relapses againCredit: paulmerseofficial/instagram
      Paul is a pundit on Sky Sports’ Soccer SaturdayCredit: Getty
      Yet within years his addictions took control. He said: “I was playing for England and sitting in crack dens with a massive rock of coke.
      “People would come in to score, then do a double take and think, ‘No, it can’t be Paul Merson, can it?’
      “I’d be drinking at 5am after the nightclubs shut and snorting cocaine in the taxi on the way to Arsenal training. I tried to kill myself three times. Someone has looked out for me. I don’t go to church but I do believe in God.”
      A spell in rehab conquered Paul’s cocaine addiction but his gambling problem was still rampant by the time he joined Aston Villa in 1998.
      He said: “I once lost a top-of-the-range Rolex to a friend in a game of heads and tails when we were drunk in Spain. He took the watch and then got robbed. But you can’t have a bet and moan if you lose.
      “At Villa, me and David James went to the car show at the Birmingham NEC and I bought a Ferrari for £105,000.
      “I said to the guy, ‘I’ll give you cash on Tuesday’. But on the Monday I went to the bookies.
      “On Tuesday the Ferrari geezer got to the training ground and I just said, ‘I lost it. I ain’t got the money’.
      “Then I said, ‘Do us a favour, can I just have a little drive?’ and I went up the road and back. I actually didn’t like it because it had those Tiptronic (semi-automatic) gears. I dodged a bullet with that one.”
      Now Paul attends Gamblers Anonymous sessions, talks to an expert, uses the app — and has chocolate for comfort instead of drink.
      He said: “I’m a chocoholic. Or a pudding-aholic. I eat puddings, which I’ve never been interested in. That took up too much room for the drink, so it’s swings and roundabouts.
      “But my wife would rather me eat a bar of Dairy Milk in two seconds flat than not know when I’ll be home.”
      And Paul is determined not to relapse again. He said: “Kate would leave me, and I wouldn’t blame her.
      “I don’t think I’ve got another recovery in me. I’ve done it too many times.”
      EASY TO LOSE £300K IN A DAY
      PAUL worries about young footballers playing at the top level and betting.
      He said: “Among professional sportspeople it is an increasing problem. In Tony Adams’s treatment centre it used to be 70 per cent alcoholics and 30 per cent gamblers and now it’s the other way round. That shows you.
      Paul says: ‘In Tony Adams’s treatment centre it used to be 70 per cent alcoholics and 30 per cent gamblers and now it’s the other way round’Credit: Getty
      “Gambling affected my game more than the drinking. With drinking, people can see you.
      “These players on 100 grand a week, someone could drop 300 grand in a day and come into training. No one knows.
      “It’s very easy for a player to sit indoors and lose money. I’m talking about one or two per cent.”
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