Ex-Arsenal FC defender Emmanuel Eboue has brought to light his descent into abject poverty after an illustrious football career during which he made millions of pounds.
The Ivorian played a Champions League final, earned millions in a seven year Premier League career, slept in a palatial home and drove expensive cars.
But his life turned upside down following his divorce which made him lost his property, cars and money in alimony. Even over the course of the marriage, the former right-back was conned out of his money by the white woman with whom he has three children.
The ex-international, who played 79 times for Elephant of Côte d’Ivoire now lives in a friend’s house, and spends his days hiding from bailiffs, sometimes sleeps on the floor in the friend’s home, travels by bus and even cleans his clothes by hand because he has no washing machine.
The 34-year-old narrated his emotional story to Mirror saying “Sometimes I shut off the lights because I don’t want people to know that I am inside. I put everything behind the door.
“I am in the house but I am scared. Because I don’t know what time the police will come.
“I look back and say ‘Emmanuel, you have been naive… why didn’t you think about that before?’ It is hard.
“The money I earned, I sent it to my wife for our children.
“In Turkey I earned eight million euros. I sent seven million back home. Whatever she tells me to sign, I sign.”
