Ex-Ghana international John Paintsil has revealed he came close retiring from football after a torrid spell at Fulham saw him score successive own goals.
According to the former Black Stars right back, he lost it mentally at a point in his career and that forced him to hang his boots.
Paintsil joined Fulham in 2008 after a successful World Cup in 2006, and a better Africa Cup of Nations in 2008.
However, after a good first two season with the cottagers under Roy Hudson, Paintsil’s form dipped.
“When I joined Fulham in 2008, I was supposed to seal a four-year permanent deal with them but unfortunately for me, Roy Hodgson who brought me to the club left immediately after the 2010 world cup and I had to lift up my game to catch the eye and attention of the new manager Mark Hughes,“ he told Kasapa FM.
“I remember my first day at training after the World Cup I confronted Mark Hughes about my contract and to find out whether he had plans for me but he told me to give him two weeks to make a decision many days and months past but he was still procrastinating and this was causing me severe despondency and dejection.”
“In fact, I lost my mental strength and I began to score own goals. In one of those moments, I scored four own goals in a month and this is unusual of me and this even got me thinking about retiring from the game. I believe I retired prematurely from football because of what I experienced at Fulham under Mark Hughes.”
The former Black Stars defender confirmed his retirement from football in 2016.
He spent 17-years in the profession and had stints with Berekum Arsenal and Liberty Professionals before departing the shores of Ghana to play for clubs such as Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv, West Ham United, Fulham, Leicester City, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Santos.
John Paintsil played in the 2010 AFCON finals with the Black Stars and was a member of Roy Hodgson’s Fulham that reached the final of the Europa Cup in 2010.
