Gabriel Agbonlahor played 11 seasons in the English Premier League for Aston Villa and also made three appearances for the national team. Now working as a pundit, the 37-year-old revealed his struggles with gambling during the early stages of his career while appearing on the Ben Heath Podcast. He said he would often get so angry after losing thousands of pounds playing online poker that he would throw his computer down the stairs.
It was the thrill of the wins that he sought rather than the financial rewards.
The former forward started off by playing casual games with friends before becoming aware that he could play online. It was the thrill of the wins that he sought rather than the financial rewards. The stakes continually got bigger and bigger, with Agbonlahor wagering five figures on single hands at times.
It was only after the birth of his first child when Agbonlahor was 21 years old that he stopped playing poker and he has not dabbled since. The only gambling that the Birmingham native does these days is at land-based casinos with regular sums of money.
Agbonlahor said that he was lucky that he resolved the issue early in his career and was able to continue earning a good wage for the remainder of his time playing soccer.