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Although he made 155 Premier League appearances for Tottenham, Assou-Ekotto was never the most professional player and preferred to do things quite differently.
Former England international Peter Crouch has revealed a hillarious account of how former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Benoit Assou-Ekotto disliked football.
Assou-Ekotto, a former Cameroon international, played for Tottenham between 2016 and 2015, and earned 29 caps for the Indomitable Lions.
Although he made 155 Premier League appearances for Spurs, he was never the most professional player and preferred to do things quite differently.
Speaking to The Mail, Crouch insisted that Assou-Ekotto was not actually a football fan who ‘ate a lot’.
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“Benoît didn't like football. At 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, he had no idea which team we were going to play against. I said to him: 'But Benoît, we talked about it all week, " Crouch said.
“It was the same for his meal... Today, no one ventures out. It's pasta, chicken, no sauce and it's been like that for 20 years. Benoît showed up with a Tesco bag each time containing the same 4 items: a croissant, a hot chocolate, a Coke, and a packet of crisps.
“The croissant, I understood, is Franch-Cameroonian. Hot chocolate is the same cultural story. He dipped the first into the second. But the chips and the Coke were like 2 meals that had nothing to do with each other, one that corresponded to a middle-aged Parisian and the other to a 12-year-old child.
“But it worked. He was always in great shape and rarely injured. We accepted him with all his other quirks like his cars changing at every training session, one day a Smart car, the next day a Lamborghini. He also refused ice baths for recovery on the grounds saying that it was too cold. Benoît was a really weird guy but we loved him a lot.”
"Not many people in football have the same attitude as me. Nobody is born with a silver spoon in their mouth. When you know where you come from, it's easier to map out where you want to go. You shouldn't forget that."
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As well as his dislike for football and unique eating habits, Assou-Ekotto also enjoyed taking the tube.
While a Spurs player, he often used the underground to navigate London.
At the time, he told the Evening Standard: "I really like London. When I go back to France, 24 hours is enough. I like the mentality here. I have an Oyster card and can use the tube stations without a problem.
"The people on the tube are very friendly. Sometimes they ask me about the last game, sometimes they ask me if I'm really Benoit Assou-Ekotto... and sometimes I say no, he is my little brother!
"Or they ask me why I use the tube and I say why not? They say it's strange because I play in the Premier League and use the tube. It's funny to speak to people who are surprised with how you live.
After leaving Spurs eight years ago, Assou-Ekotto spent one year at Saint-Etienne and two years at Metz, before hanging up his boots in 2018
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