Emmanuel Eboue reveals he lied to his children after football career took nosedive

- Emmanuel Eboue opened the lid into his riches-to-rags plight during an interview in January 2018

- The ex-defender revealed he had been pushed to the brink of suicide as he failed to find a new club after his ban from football

Arsenal star Emmanuel Eboue has taken time out to reflect how he had to lie to his children over his career decline a year after lifting the lid on his struggle with depression.

Eboue went public about his heartbreaking riches-to-rags plight in an exclusive interview with the UK Mirror in January 2018.

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At the time, the former star defender revealed he was contemplating suicide after losing everything.

He was spending his days hiding from bailiffs and sometimes sleeping on the floor at a friend's place.

Months later, the former Galatasaray defender has once again taken stock of his life struggles, recalling what he had to tell his children over his career slump.

The 36-year-old left Arsenal in 2011 for Galatasaray before sealing a return to the English Premier League with Sunderland in 2016.

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However, he was handed a one-year ban from football by the FA for failing to pay a former agent, forcing the Black Cats to terminate his deal without playing a single game.

"I used to train in the morning, but there were people who were training at that time and they came to take a picture. I then had to train at night, there was no light, but I could not stay at home," he told RMC Sport.

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The turn of events forced him to lie to his kids what he was doing with his time.

"When I saw my children, they asked me when I was going back to the field, so when I went out in the morning, I pretended to go to work," he recalled.

"I was staying outside and going home when my children were already in bed, I did not want them to ask me why they did not see me play," the star added.

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