{"id":385889,"date":"2017-12-24T12:34:32","date_gmt":"2017-12-24T12:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=385889"},"modified":"2017-12-24T12:38:21","modified_gmt":"2017-12-24T12:38:21","slug":"ex-arsenal-player-eboue-brink-suicide-sleeps-friends-floor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/12\/ex-arsenal-player-eboue-brink-suicide-sleeps-friends-floor\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Arsenal player Eboue on ‘brink of suicide’, sleeps on friend’s floor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eleven years ago he was lining up to take part in the biggest club match in world football.<\/p>\n

During an illustrious seven-year career in the\u00a0Premier League, he pocketed millions of pounds in wages, lived in a mansion and drove flashy cars.<\/p>\n

Now ex-Arsenal defender\u00a0Emmanuel Eboue\u00a0spends his days hiding from \u00adbailiffs, sometimes sleeps on the floor of a friend\u2019s home, travels by bus and even cleans his clothes by hand because he has no washing machine.<\/p>\n

Today, the 34-year-old tells how his staggering riches-to-rags plight has pushed him to the brink of suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want God to help me,\u201d he says. \u201cOnly he can help take these thoughts from my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

To listen to Eboue open his heart is as harrowing as it is shocking.<\/p>\n

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Emmanuel Eboue says his fall from grace has pushed him to the brink of suicide\u00a0(Image: Philip Coburn\/Daily Mirror)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

He wants to talk openly and honestly in a bid to encourage others going through the same ordeal to open up.<\/p>\n

The Sunday Mirror, through its Time To Change campaign, has been battling for the past six years to smash the stigma associated with the mental ill health with which Eboue is now suffering.<\/p>\n

At the peak of his career with\u00a0Arsenal\u00a0he became a fans\u2019 favourite. He was part of the side that faced Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final.<\/p>\n

Arsenal lost but Eboue remains a cult-hero at the Emirates Stadium, as much for his happy demeanour and his goal celebrations as the ability which saw him help the Ivory Coast reach the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Final.<\/p>\n

That joy, however, has been replaced by tears \u2013 and a deep fear of the future.<\/p>\n

Eboue, currently unable to play football because of ill-health, says he has been pushed to the brink. He has:<\/p>\n

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  • Lost a bitter\u00a0divorce\u00a0battle, with his wife Aurelie awarded all of their assets.<\/li>\n
  • Had to hide from cops and bailiffs after being ordered by a judge to transfer his remaining Enfield home to his wife.<\/li>\n
  • Faced a heartbreaking estrangement from his three kids, who he has not seen since June.<\/li>\n
  • Been grieving after the cancer death of grandfather Amadou Bertin \u2013 who raised him \u2013 and the loss of his brother N\u2019Dri Serge, killed in a motorbike accident.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n