Denmark

Nicklas Bendtner: 'I became too fond of the lifestyle that came with the money' | Donald McRae

09-Oct-2020 20:00:16 | Guardian

The former Arsenal and Denmark striker on how he lost his way as a professional footballer and a person, why he does not blame Arsène Wenger and his own hopes for a management career

About 3am one morning in the summer of 2011, when he was still only 23 and his promising career at Arsenal had begun to slip away, Nicklas Bendtner arrived at his favourite casino in London. “I’m way too drunk to sit at a table,” Bendtner remembers. “That much I get. But roulette is a different matter. Red, black, red, black. How hard can it be?

“After 90 minutes I’ve lost £400,000. Money I don’t have. My bank account is overdrawn and I’m bankrupt if my luck doesn’t turn. I stagger into the loos and splash water on my face. Then I find a cashier and get another £50,000 of chips.”