LONDON: Former Arsenal and England full-back Kenny Sansom has been left homeless as he struggles with alcohol and gambling problems, it was reported yesterday.
Sansom, now 54, made 86 appearances for his country between 1979 and 1988 and played at the World Cup twice.
However, he revealed in an interview with The Sun newspaper that his drinking and gambling addictions have now left him penniless and without a roof over his head.
“I have been living homeless for 10 days, that’s because I’ve got no money, I’m a drunk, I’m not feeling very well and I’m a gambler. I’ve been living on the street,” he said.
“I am just a drunk. I drink as much as I can get.”
In March, it was reported that Sansom had been taken to hospital after collapsing in a London street.
Recently, he had been staying with his sister before going missing, although both the Professional Footballers’ Association and his former club Arsenal have offered him their support.
“I am in a bad way. Arsenal are trying to help me, but I have got to try to help myself,” he said.
Sansom made his professional debut for Crystal Palace at the age of 16 and went on to captain the England Under-21s before becoming a permanent fixture in the senior team’s defence.
The full-back spent eight years at Arsenal, playing 314 matches, before leaving to join Newcastle in 1988.
He also played for QPR and Everton before retiring. Since then, he had worked in the media and undergone several rehabilitation programmes.
Meanwhile in San Francisco, California, English Premiership club Everton beat two-time reigning Italian champions Juventus on 6-5 on penalties yesterday after playing to a 1-1 draw in the International Champions Cup friendly tournament.
The match at AT&T Park, home of baseball’s World Series champion San Francisco Giants, drew a crowd of 22,208, who saw Everton seal the victory when their American goalkeeper Tim Howard stopped defender Federico Peluso’s penalty.
It was the first match in the United States among the eight teams playing in the tournament, which also include Chelsea, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Valencia and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Belgian forward Kevin Mirallas delivered Everton’s only goal in the 61st minute, eluding Peluso and firing home.
Ghanaian midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah grabbed the equalizer in the 80th, sliding a left-footed shot past Howard.
Everton will face either Real Madrid or the Galaxy on Saturday at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium in the winner’s bracket of the tournament. AGENCIES
