Football ace paying struggling ex just £8 a MONTH child maintenance leaving her to raise son on Pot Noodles

A FOOTBALL star paid a struggling ex-girlfriend £8-a-month maintenance payments — leaving her to raise their son on Pot Noodles.

The ex-player, a regular on TV, radio and computer games, hid his assets, she alleges, to make sure he was adjudged to qualify for nil rate child support.

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A football star paid a struggling ex-girlfriend £8-a-month maintenance payments — leaving her to raise their son on Pot Noodles (stock image)[/caption]

She claims the player, who spent part of his more than 20-year career in the Championship, owes hundreds of thousands for the upkeep of their boy, now 14.

She says records show he earns less than £7 a week.

The girlfriend said: “My son has had to eat £1.80 packet noodles for dinner on really hard days. He once asked me for an ice cream, I couldn’t afford it. It broke my heart.

“He’s had to wear clothes that are too small. He wanted to go to boxing and basketball but I can’t afford the fees. Anything I earn goes towards him and my house.”

The couple dated for two years before she became pregnant.

She said: “The mask fell. He said, ‘You can’t be pregnant, I’m married’. I was stunned.”

She says she foolishly accepted the ex-player’s offer of £10,000 not to take their finance row to a tribunal.

She added: “But I expected the basic child maintenance to continue, which to my surprise was abruptly stopped.

“Officials tell me their records show he is earning less than £7 a week, so he can send what he wants.

“He comes across as a jovial guy. His hypocrisy is jaw-dropping.”