“Probably one gay footballer in every team”

Watford striker Troy Deeney has said that there is probably one gay or bisexual footballer in every team.

Talking to Louis Theroux on the BBC Podcast Grounded, he said: “I would go on record saying that there is probably one gay or bi person in every football team. They’re there, they are 100% there.”

He also said that he believed that many gay footballers were reluctant to be the first to come out, but added that “I genuinely believe you would get in the first week at least 100 people that went ‘me too’.”

He doubted that coming out as a gay footballer would be an “issue” and that today there was a better platform to come out as a gay athlete than ever before.

Justin Fashanu, who died in 1998, was the only openly gay footballer in the history of the UK game.

Others, such as Everton’s Thomas Hitzlsperger, only came out after they had retired from the game.