Former Canadian international footballer Paul James, 59, is begging on the streets of London after becoming homeless due to his drug addiction, dailymail.co.uk reports.
During his career, the Welsh-born midfielder (who went to school in Cardiff with Gareth Bale) and moved to North America with his family as a teenager made 47 appearances and scored two goals for Canada. In particular, James played for the team at the 1984 Olympics and the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where he played against the Soviet team of Valery Lobanovsky with Oleg Blokhin and the French team with Michel Platini.
Hanging up his boots, Paul James became a coach. In particular, he won the CONCACAF championship with the Canadian U20 women’s team, and played with the guys at the U20 World Championship in Argentina. The specialist also led the adult team of the Bahamas.
In February 2012, James announced that he had been struggling with drug addiction for many years, and his life had gone topsy-turvy. First he lost his job, and soon he was left without a family and shelter. Separated from wife Ashley Kelly. “I loved her madly, but I could not offer her anything,” Paul admits. For the past four years, the ex-football player has not communicated with relatives at all, and only two months later he learned about the death of his mother.
A few years ago, Paul left Canada and moved to the UK. He slept on cardboard and is still begging on the streets of London. According to James, he is raising money so that he can wear his own clothes and shoes, rather than second-hand ones. Recently, a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame found himself a dorm room and watched the 2022 World Cup matches on TV. He carries all his belongings - blankets, clothes and a small iPad with a cracked screen - in a black sports bag.
Earlier, FACTS reported that the ex-football player of Real Madrid, who played with Zidane, Beckham and Ronaldo, was selling cigarettes at a kiosk.
Photo dailymail.co.uk
Source: Fakty
