Former Premier League striker reveals himself as “The Secret Footballer” for the first time

We knew it was you all along...

Writing five books and holding a regular newspaper column, The Secret Footballer exposed frustrations, joys and secrets within the game.

Many had already guessed his identity, but the man himself has now revealed himself in an interview.

Former Reading and Stoke striker Dave Kitson said: "I am The Secret Footballer. I’ve never said that out loud before. It was an idea that came to me when I wasn’t happy with where football was going and I needed an outlet to express it for my own mental health.

"I’ve been writing since I was a kid. It’s a passion. As I said, I wanted to be a travel writer. The writing was cathartic. It helped me process what was going on in football.

"It started as something that wasn’t about naming names. It was about explaining what happens in the industry and why.

"I would write and leave people to form their own opinions. It was fun for a while, then it bred huge anxiety. I had a career and a big contract. If I’d been outed, I would have been sacked and ostracised. Now everyone has a podcast and an outlet. Back then, it was genuinely new.

"It changed football in this country and led to overhauls at the highest levels, which I’m proud of. But the stress and anxiety were immense.

"The worst thing that happened was when I wrote a column about mental health called ‘Sometimes There’s Darkness Behind the Light’.

"Nobody talked about mental health in football then. If you spoke about it, you were seen as weak. I said there was a mental health epidemic and I predicted it was only a matter of time before someone took their own life.

"I submitted it on Friday. It went out Saturday. On Sunday, Gary Speed was found dead. That’s when the Secret Footballer stopped being fun."