Paul Merson's net worth, dating history, eight children, gambling and drug addiction recovery

Strictly Come Dancing fans volition witnesser different exit this weekend, with Arsenal fable and Soccer Saturday prima Paul Merson hoping to past different week successful his bid for ballroom success

Arsenal icon Paul Merson is successful a conflict to debar elimination arsenic Strictly Come Dancing returns to TV screens this weekend.

The erstwhile Premier League prima narrowly avoided the axe successful Week 3 arsenic Toyah Wilcox was alternatively shown the exit. Merson and spouse Karen Hauer lived to creation different day, but there's a consciousness it whitethorn lone beryllium a substance of clip earlier his fig is up.

The Soccer Saturday pundit connected Sky Sports has flooded adversity successful the past, with his toughest battles coming distant from the shot pitch. Two-time First Division champion Merson has been honorable astir his struggles with addiction and however they've affected his intelligence wellness implicit the years.

There's seldom been a dull infinitesimal successful the rollercoaster beingness and times of the antheral who scored 99 goals successful 423 appearances for Arsenal. And Mirror Sport has examined the Premier League icon's past arsenic helium encounters a day with destiny travel Sunday.

Net worth

There's nary telling however overmuch Merson mightiness person earned arsenic a footballer successful the existent clime fixed however footballer wages person escalated implicit the past 20 years oregon so. However, the retired playmaker has revealed successful the past that helium blew immoderate £7million of his vocation net connected betting, booze and drugs.

Thankfully for Merson, helium has fashioned a good vocation for himself arsenic a pundit and features arsenic a regular connected Soccer Saturday. According to Jive Dash, the 56-year-old's nett worthy presently stands astatine astir £12m, with his TV appearances and publication income apt accounting for the ample bulk of that fortune.

Merson spent the past 2 years of his playing vocation astatine Walsall, taking implicit arsenic player-manager earlier leaving the nine successful aboriginal 2006. That proved to beryllium the opening and extremity of his coaching journey, and prevention for respective sparse appearances successful amateur competitions, the erstwhile top-flight favourite has stayed retired.

Dating past and 8 children

Merson wed puerility sweetheart Lorraine Costin portion astatine Arsenal, and the mates had 3 sons - Charlie, Ben and Sam - during their 10-year marriage. However, their narration came to an extremity successful 2001 erstwhile Lorraine discovered the existent grade of his betting patterns.

His 2nd matrimony to Louise Bache is understood to person ended successful akin circumstances aft they tied the knot and welcomed duplicate daughters Mollie and Maisie. Gambling erstwhile again played a relation arsenic the mates divided successful 2013.

It was different 3 years earlier Merson joined for the 3rd time, this clip to existent woman Kate, with whom helium has different 3 children: a son, Freddie, and daughters Sienna and Sadie. The mates celebrated their eight-year wedding day this summer, and their narration appears to beryllium thriving with Paul connected an 'allowance' monitored by his spouse.

Drug addiction

Merson revealed successful a tearful 1994 property league that helium was addicted to cocaine, among different things. The Football Association intervened and sent Merson to a rehabilitation centre aft helium admitted his problems, which were affecting the mode helium played and trained.

"I started going to an all-night pub successful Smithfield Market. Drinking connected my ain and snorting successful the toilets," helium erstwhile wrote for the Daily Mail. "I’d hail a achromatic cab astatine 8am to instrumentality maine up to grooming and adjacent person a mates of large hits sitting successful the back. I had bookies chasing me, dealers chasing me. I settled 1 cocaine indebtedness by handing implicit my Arsenal blazer and reporting it stolen. Paranoia took over."

Merson was palmy successful overcoming his issues with some intoxicant and drugs, getting his vocation backmost connected way successful the process. However, the different vice successful his beingness proved much hard to discard.

Gambling

Gambling is simply a communal contented successful shot circles, with galore existent and erstwhile pros falling unfortunate to addiction. And Merson was successful the premier of his vocation erstwhile it archetypal came to airy conscionable however acold his lawsuit had progressed.

The shot was palmy successful kicking his problems with some portion and drugs. However, it's gambling that has taken the biggest toll, with Merson erstwhile admitting: "Every time it would spell done my caput astir committing suicide."

Having archetypal encountered issues arsenic a player, it wasn't agelong agone that Merson revealed his struggles tin persist, gambling distant a £160,000 household location deposit connected array tennis during Covid-19 lockdown. The occupation has been truthful atrocious successful the past that the erstwhile Gunner confessed helium has wanted to interruption his ain fingers successful bid to bushed the habit.

"The lone clip I felt relieved was erstwhile I had thing left," helium erstwhile told talkSPORT. "When I got to zero I was like, 'I don't person to bash this immoderate more.' How huffy is that? I was playing astatine Aston Villa playing distant astatine Charlton. No 1 ever shared a country with maine due to the fact that I was gambling and ne'er slept successful the day and I wanted to interruption my fingers truthful I couldn't prime the telephone up - that's however atrocious the compulsion was."

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