Premier League footballers are commonly stereotyped as serial womanisers, but according to one ex-player, the reality could be quite different.
Former Arsenal and Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner claims that many of his former colleagues prefer hiring sex workers to hooking up with strangers, mainly due to fears over being exposed in the press - and extortion attempts.
Not one to shy away from controversy, the 34-year-old made the explosive revelation in his 2020 autobiography Both Sides, which was released one year before he announced his retirement from football.
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Per the Daily Star, The Dane wrote: "Believe me, everyone in my industry has heard of someone who's been at it, especially in England where it's a grand old tradition to share your c***-and-ball stories with a full audience."
"It's less risky than picking up girls while out on the town. You hardly dare do the deed with a 'civilian' any longer. Not when you're a famous footballer."
"I know about loads of incidents involving prostitutes. But I know of just as many stories about extortion via social media."
According to the former professional, one particular entanglement involved a girl asking him to pay for her boob job in an apparent extortion attempt.
Bendtner added: "We're talking about gold-diggers from the nightlife scene who are up for a f*** and then take a photo of you sleeping it off while you're starkers. With those photos as their trump card, they can demand stuff to keep their mouths shut. And they do."
"One of the girls I've been with comes back and claims I've got her pregnant. That there's a price if she's going to do something about it.
"'And what does that mean?' I ask. 'It means you've got to pay for a pair of new boobs for me. I want my t*****s fixed,' she says. So I end up paying for her trip to the cosmetic surgeon."
While Bendtner was never a Premier League regular at the Emirates Stadium, he did play 108 times for Arsenal during a nine-year spell at the club, scoring 24 goals in total.
After leaving London in 2014, he had spells at Juventus, Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest and Rosenborg.
In spite of his patchy club form down the years, the man from Copenhagen enjoyed a fine International career, scoring 30 goals in 81 caps for Denmark.
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Topics: Arsenal
Tom Fenton