Former footballer Steve Claridge has laid bare the depths of his gambling addiction during his playing days.
The 58-year-old enjoyed a distinctive career that spanned over four decades over various levels with his most notable spells at Weymouth, Cambridge United, Birmingham City, Leicester City, Portsmouth and Millwall.
Claridge’s longevity saw him play in over 1,000 professional or semi-professional football matches.
However, in an interview with Undr the Cosh, Claridge opened up about his biggest battle as a player.
Speaking about his gambling addiction, the former striker was candid about his struggles – citing three examples during his career.
The most eye-raising incident came in March 2000 during his second spell at Portsmouth.
Steve Claridge has revealed the lengths of his gambling addictions during his playing career
During the 1999-2000 season at Portsmouth, he gambled his house at Cheltenham Festival
He bet his £260,000 house on Istabraq to win the Champions Hurdle, which luckily won for him
Claridge was Pompey’s main man that season, finishing as their top scorer with 14 goals in the old First Division, now the Championship.
However, unknown to his close ones – including his partner, who he is still with – Claridge was willing to risk being homeless to chase a win as he bet his house without anyone knowing – admitting to this day that his partner is still in the dark about it.
Recalling that story, he said: ‘It’s March. It’s Cheltenham Festival. A horse called Istabraq come over from Ireland. It’s won the Champions Hurdle two times previous, so I have to get on this horse but I’ve got no money. How can I get on this horse? I know what I can do, I can sell my house. It’s the only thing I’ve got any money in.
‘I said to my missus, “you go home” so she’s living with her mum and dad but unbeknown to her I’ve sold the house. I’ve got £260,000 to play with.
‘The horse is 8/13 so I’ve got £260,000 to win £160,000. I’ve got no house so I wake up on the day of the race and I’m just about to get my car to drive to Cheltenham and it comes on the radio that the horse has bled from the nose.
‘F***ing hell it’s an antepost bet, which back in the day meant you don’t get your money back if the horse doesn’t run. So I just jump in a car and go down there under the pretext that this horse might not run. Anyway it does run, it wins and I get myself a four-bed detached house with the money because that’s what I used to do was when I had a win.
‘Strangely enough when I finished my career I ended up with a multitude of houses because every time I won, I would buy a house.
‘I’m still with the same missus now and she doesn’t know nothing.’
Claridge attends a FA hearing for an alleged breach of betting rules in April 2000
That was one example of Claridge’s addiction outside of football, but he admitted to betting in and around his workplace too – explaining he lost thousands of pounds just moments before he was due to play a football match.
In one of his three spells at Millwall, Claridge reminisced: ‘I remember playing for Millwall and losing £76,000 at half past two. I’m in the warm-up and have got to go play a game of football but I can deal with it.’
Explaining the mentality of a gambling addict, Claridge said that you are always chasing the highest of highs before he realised he needed to quit altogether.
‘The thing you have to realise as a gambler, as an addict is that when you get to a level you can’t go back.
‘I heard someone say the other day he lost some money and that he does it does as a bit of fun. No you can’t do that because if you’re an addict you can’t ever do anything for fun. It’s like you start on weed and go on heroin.
‘You don’t go back to weed, you either stay on heroin and die or you get off heroin. That’s your choice.
‘I got to a level where I either bankrupted myself and lost everything or stopped. That was 14 years ago.’
Claridge also admitted to once training with £5,000 in his socks during his spell at Cambridge United in the early 1990s.
Claridge provided other examples of his gambling addiction at Millwall (left) and Cambridge
‘I didn’t seek help, I just got sick of being sick and fed up,’ he continued after talking about that previous story at Millwall.
‘I think you realise in the end that you might win next week or next month but you won’t win next year. In the end I’m going to lose. I trained with £5,000 in my pocket at Cambridge in my sock.’
Claridge’s betting exploits did land him in trouble with the Football Association back in 2000. He and five of his Portsmouth team-mates placed a £250 bet on their side to beat Barnsley at Fratton Park on January 29, 2000.
He was subsequently fined £900 in April 2000 for misconduct after scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for the south-coast club – their first victory in 15 games.
