I’m a former Newcastle & Sheffield Wednesday star – but I’ve lived on £5 a week in my career… I’d spend a month’s wages in days

A FORMER NEWCASTLE United player has told how he used to spend his monthly salary in days – and ended up living on just £5 a week.

Centre-back Karl Colley has opened up about his playing problems during his professional football career.

After signing for Sheffield Wednesday aged just 17, he ended up moving to Newcastle and playing under Peter Beardsley.

However, the move caused mental health problems and he ended up joining non-league teams.

Now he has opened up about the depression he suffered – and the gambling addiction it caused.

He told the Undr The Cosh podcast: “I grew up around gambling. My father was a player, my grandfather and uncle were also players.

“My father used to leave me outside the betting shops, but I couldn’t see what was happening inside. You could just hear the commentary, I was always intrigued.

“When I left Newcastle’s training ground, the only place I felt safe was the betting shops. I was like a lost child in a big city.

“When I’m in the betting shops for hours on end, I’m obviously betting more money and the situation is getting worse – but that’s my safe place.”

Things got so bad that Karl started placing bets every 30 seconds.

He explained: “When I was betting, nothing else mattered. That’s when you know you have a problem.

“My monthly salary would be gone in a week, maybe less. Thousands of pounds. I remember living on a fiver in Newcastle for a few weeks.”

Colley was infamously sacked by Goole when he tried to attack a rival fan after being sent off in 2014.

He says his difficulties with the game continued during his time in the Non-League, adding: “I only played to make money, that’s all I know, playing for money. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, I was still playing, I was still suffering from depression.

“Nobody knew about it because I hadn’t opened up yet. People knew I was a player, but the depression and where my head was at – nobody knew.

“You’d see me on a Saturday and I’d be smiling and laughing with a few quid in my pocket. No one saw me struggling the other six days a week, breaking down and facing my demons.”

A responsible player is someone who:

• Set time and monetary limits before playing
• Only games with money they can lose
• Never chase your losses
• Don’t play if you are upset, irritated or depressed

For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk be excluded from all UK regulated gambling sites.