{"id":1146,"date":"2026-04-01T02:11:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=1146"},"modified":"2026-04-01T02:11:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:11:12","slug":"england-legend-was-left-bankrupt-and-homeless-as-he-took-refuge-in-supermarket-car-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=1146","title":{"rendered":"England legend was left bankrupt and homeless as he took refuge in supermarket car park"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_cc3189\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">A former England icon was left sleeping rough in a supermarket car park by his alcohol addiction<\/h2>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36944388\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kenny Sansom clapping while wearing an Arsenal scarf\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944388.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_The-former-Arsenal-defender-has-successfully-turned-his-life-around.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944388.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_The-former-Arsenal-defender-has-successfully-turned-his-life-around.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944388.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_The-former-Arsenal-defender-has-successfully-turned-his-life-around.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944388.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_The-former-Arsenal-defender-has-successfully-turned-his-life-around.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Kenny Sansom was once pictured sleeping in a Sainsbury's car park\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Kenny Sansom was once pictured sleeping in a Sainsbury&#8217;s car park<cite aria-label=\"Image: GETTY\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: GETTY)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Former Arsenal and England star Kenny Sansom was once pictured <a aria-label=\"sleeping in a supermarket car parkLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/2075390\/England-Arsenal-Kenny-Sansom\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">sleeping in a supermarket car park<\/a> after being left penniless and homeless by his alcohol addiction. Sansom, who led the Gunners to a League Cup victory in 1987 and earned 86 caps for the Three Lions, held the record for the most England appearances by a defender until Ashley Cole surpassed him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Following his retirement in 1994, Sansom suffered from alcoholism and gambling addiction. In 2016, he featured in a dramatic &#8216;celebrity intervention&#8217; on the Jeremy Kyle Show, where it was revealed that he nearly lost his life following his mother&#8217;s funeral.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A few months later, Sansom was photographed in a vulnerable state in a supermarket car park. The legendary Arsenal left-back was seen sleeping outside a Sainsbury&#8217;s store next to empty wine bottles. Wearing an unbuttoned white shirt, he slept for around three hours in broad daylight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE!<\/strong><a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mirrorfootballarsenal#\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"> <\/strong><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"><u>Latest Gunners news and more on our dedicated Facebook page<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">At the time, a close friend of Sansom&#8217;s told the <a aria-label=\"Daily MailLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-3767036\/Asleep-supermarket-car-park-7-30am-two-wine-bottles-Pictures-raise-new-concerns-alcoholic-ex-England-footballer-Kenny-Sansom.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Daily Mail<\/a> that he was at his &#8220;lowest point in years&#8221; and needed to be sectioned for the sake of his mental health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">They reportedly said: &#8220;He starts drinking again whenever he struggles to deal with his thoughts and feelings.<\/p>\n<p><span data-testid=\"readmore\" class=\"ReadMore_readmore-prefix__xS44r __className_13e0b4\">READ MORE<!-- -->: <span class=\"ReadMore_readmore-link__eF9pN\">&#8216;Joining Arsenal made me feel like an impostor &#8211; I confided in my dad over fears&#8217;<\/span><\/span><span data-testid=\"readmore\" class=\"ReadMore_readmore-prefix__xS44r __className_13e0b4\">READ MORE<!-- -->: <span class=\"ReadMore_readmore-link__eF9pN\">Kenny Sansom opens up on attack that left him in a coma amid his battle with booze<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;He&#8217;s never addressed the death of his mother years ago, his dad wasn&#8217;t around, and he feels like he went from being one of England&#8217;s best ever defenders to a no-one almost overnight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;He knows he needs help and admits that but refuses to talk to a counsellor. Unless he does, the drink is going to kill him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-36944390\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36944390\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.48\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"23 March 1982 Bilbao - Friendly Football International Match - Athletic Bilbao v England : Kenny Sansom of England \" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 458px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944390.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_Athletic-Bilbao-v-England.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944390.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s458b\/0_Athletic-Bilbao-v-England.jpg 458w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944390.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_Athletic-Bilbao-v-England.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944390.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_Athletic-Bilbao-v-England.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Kenny Sansom is an England legend\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Kenny Sansom is an England legend<cite aria-label=\"Image: Mark Leech\/Offside, Mark Leech Sports Photography\/Getty Images\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: Mark Leech\/Offside, Mark Leech Sports Photography\/Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Four years later, Sansom was left fighting for his life in hospital after being attacked while in a &#8216;vulnerable&#8217; state. He spent 18 days in a coma and had to learn how to walk, talk and eat all over again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Sansom has since been able to rebuild his life after confronting his struggles with alcohol and emerging victorious. He is reportedly much happier these days despite living with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a brain condition resembling dementia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He told the <a aria-label=\"MailLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-11898603\/Kenny-Sansom-speaks-rebuilding-life-battle-booze.html\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Mail<\/a> in 2023: &#8220;I played 86 times for England and if I didn&#8217;t drink, I would have played a lot more. I&#8217;d love to be able to help people who drink, to tell them my story, tell them what it does to you.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-36944387\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36944387\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.69\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kenny Sansom found himself at rock bottom during his battle with booze\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 458px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944387.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_Kenny-Sansom-found-himself-at-rock-bottom-during-his-battle-with-booze.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944387.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s458b\/0_Kenny-Sansom-found-himself-at-rock-bottom-during-his-battle-with-booze.jpg 458w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944387.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_Kenny-Sansom-found-himself-at-rock-bottom-during-his-battle-with-booze.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36944387.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_Kenny-Sansom-found-himself-at-rock-bottom-during-his-battle-with-booze.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Sansom found himself at rock bottom during his battle with booze\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Sansom found himself at rock bottom during his battle with booze<cite aria-label=\"Image: GETTY\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: GETTY)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;What do you say to someone who drinks? It&#8217;s very difficult but I&#8217;d like to help. It messes people up and it makes you a fool. I&#8217;m meant to be funny, I&#8217;d tell a good joke every now and then. I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;re funny anymore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;I can enjoy my kids and my grandkids. I can take them to football matches. I can take them wherever they want, when I want. It&#8217;s up to me. It&#8217;s all I want to do now. I feel like I&#8217;m their dad (whereas before) I was a drunk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Once I started drinking, oh dear, it was a nightmare. Drink drove me crazy. The more I drunk, the more I liked it. If I was sitting in a bar, I&#8217;d drink six bottles of wine. It&#8217;s bloody crazy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"AffiliateContentsEmbed_affiliate-contents-container__oTiet\" data-testid=\"affiliate-contents-embed\">\n<div data-testid=\"affiliate-content\" class=\"AffiliateContent_affiliate-content-container__10EX_ affiliate-content\">\n<p>England&#8217;s 2026 World Cup kits<\/p>\n<div class=\"AffiliateDisclaimer_affiliate-disclaimer__dG5ST\">\n<div class=\"AffiliateDisclaimer_affiliate-text__8nmDa\">This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"AffiliateContent_section-container__JMDzM AffiliateContent_content-details__U6C2M AffiliateContent_has-content-img___LY95\">\n<div class=\"AffiliateContent_section-content__QCkL9\">\n<div class=\"AffiliateContent_content-image__FxPNL\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Content Image\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article36905637.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s510b\/0_Untitled-2jpeg.jpg\"\/><\/div>\n<div class=\"AffiliateContent_content-price-details__OpMC_\">\n<p>Various Prices<\/p>\n<p>England Official Store<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"AffiliateContent_content-buy-btn__xWiVO buy-btn\" aria-label=\"Buy button\" href=\"https:\/\/england-fa-shop.sjv.io\/c\/344386\/852317\/11901?subId1=Mirror-football.london&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.englandstore.com%2Fen%2Fengland-national-team-football-kits-three-lions%2Ft-25619315%2Bd-9072656104%2Bc-340607%2Bz-9-3856279017\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Buy Now on England Official Store<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"AffiliateContent_section-container__JMDzM\">\n<div id=\"product-description\" class=\"AffiliateContent_section-content__QCkL9\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">England and Nike have launched the new home, away and goalkeeper kits to be worn at this summer&#8217;s FIFA World Cup. You can get free delivery on all orders with the code: <!-- -->ENGFREEDEL<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former England icon was left sleeping rough in a supermarket car park by his alcohol addiction Kenny Sansom was once pictured sleeping in a Sainsbury&#8217;s car park(Image: GETTY) Former Arsenal and England star Kenny Sansom was once pictured sleeping in a supermarket car park after being left penniless and homeless by his alcohol addiction. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}