Kevin-Prince Boateng has always had a wild side during a career which has some incredible ups, most notably with AC Milan, and some incredible lows.
In a stunning and revealing interview with theGuardian, the Ghanian international states that his spell at Tottenham during the early stages of his career nearly destroyed his entire life.
The north London side signed the promising youngster in 2007 for £5.4m and Boateng saw it as his "big move" with more money in his life than he could have ever imagined after growing up in a brutally poor neighbourhood in Berlin.
However, he was not ready for the high-life on the English capital and his lavish lifestyle soon caught up with him.
I looked old,� Boateng says. He was 20.
Every night I was out until six. I was like 95 kilos, swollen from the drinking and bad food. I said: ˜This can't be me, I don't want to be that guy. I have something inside: I'm a football player.' I called my friends, two real friends, and they came. Together, we cleaned out my fridge and the house.
"That day, I said: ˜No, stop it.' I didn't drink. I didn't go out. I started cooking; I wanted to eat healthily. From one day to the next.� Boateng clicks his fingers. If I did it slowly, maybe I wouldn't do it. I needed a clean break.�
Martin Jol had supposedly told the youngster that he didn't want him after a month, so he decided to enjoy other things, including some lavish spending.
I was spending serious amounts: nightclubs, clothes, cars.� Three in one day, the story goes. True,� he says. Because you try to buy happiness. I couldn't play football so I buy a Lamborghini. Wow, you're happy for a week. After that you don't even use it.
"Who drives around Loughton in a Lamborghini? I still have a picture: three cars, big house, I'm standing there like I'm 50 Cent. I look at it sometimes and say: ˜Look how stupid you were.' But that made me who I am and I can look back and see it. I've learned. I grew up.�
Former Spurs sporting director, Damien Comolli, regrets the club's management of such a fragile talent who needed help from the club. However, in the end, Boateng made huge changes to his lifestyle and is now enjoying a fruitful spell in La Liga.