Emmanuel Eboue has told how his ban from football in 2016 led him to lie to his children to convince them he was still playing.
Eboue, who has struggled with mental health and financial difficulties, was served with a one-year ban in 2016 when playing for Sunderland for failing to pay a former agent.
The former Arsenal midfielder has now revealed that to cover up his ban to his children, he would leave the house and not come back for long stretches to give the impression all was fine.
“I couldn’t train during the day and I was too embarrassed to stay at home,” he told RMC Sport. “My children always asked me when I was going to return to the field, so whenever I stepped out in the morning, I pretended to go to work.
‘“Unbeknown to my children I was staying outside and returning home when they were already in bed. I didn’t want them to ask me why they didn’t see me play on television.”
