Former England striker Andy Carroll has revealed he was sexually assaulted by a man in 2021.
The 37-year-old, who was automatically granted anonymity as a victim of sexual assault, has made the details public in an autobiography titled ‘Owning it’.
The incident took place at Carroll’s home, during his second spell with his hometown club Newcastle and led to the perpetrator being jailed for three years.
Carroll, now a player/co-owner of non-league club Dagenham & Redbridge, says he decided to include the incident in his book “at the very last minute” after discussing it with his girlfriend Lou Teasdale.
A friend of his former partner, who was away at the time, was set to stay over after coming to his home to watch a boxing match.
Carroll says the incident occurred while he was sleeping and he then threw the man out of the house, before knocking him unconscious as he tried to return.
Carroll, who also played in the Premier League for Liverpool and West Ham, called the police and was “sobbing” in the arms of his children’s nanny.
The unnamed attacker was found guilty of sexual offences and placed on the sex offender register. Carroll testified in court, a process he says was “humiliating and embarrassing and absolutely horrendous”.
Carroll wrote: “I was sexually assaulted, there I said it. Scary to even think about and only a few people knew about it before now.
“Me and Lou spent a lot of time discussing whether to mention it in this book or not. I avoided my publisher for so long that they probably suspected I got cold feet.
“Scary to talk about but it’s made [me] the person I am today as much as any of the good stuff. And if me talking about it helps just one person then good, it will have been worth it.”
Carroll, who won nine England caps, added: “What happened to me affected every facet of my life. I’d think about it every day, making it difficult to focus on anything else, including football… The trauma of what happened to me hasn’t gone away.”
Carroll joined Dagenham in July 2025 and has made six appearances in the National League South this season.