At the height of his powers, winger David Bentley was compared to a young David Beckham and predicted to become a Three Lions legend.
But the former Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur winger ended up falling out of love with the game and retiring in 2013 at the age of 29 – to the shock of football fans across the country.
His reasons were clear: Bentley believed that football had become boring, predictable and too professional as a result of social media and increased commercialisation of the game. The dressing room antics of his youth were a thing of the past, and football had slowly become a chore.
"People sometimes ask me if I regret leaving Arsenal as a young player or retiring when I did but no," he tells FourFourTwo on behalf of William Hill ahead of this weekend's North London Derby. "I'd grown tired of the game and I wanted to spend more time at home with my family and focus on other things. I loved my career, don't get me wrong. I got to do something many people dream about but it was time to call it a day. I opened my bar in Marbella among other things and I wanted to give my attention to that."
Bentley's hijinks often got him into trouble during his playing days. One famous incident saw him tip a bucket of water over Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp's head after Spurs qualified for the Champions League – the player then preceded to dance around in his pants in front of cameras and his irate gaffer.
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Bentley was also alleged to have called his England manager Fabio Capello 'Postman Pat' to his face on at least one occasion. But asked whether he regrets any of those episodes, Bentley is resolute.
"No, never," he says. "I'm not the sort of person to have regrets. Everything happens for a reason and I was just a young bloke having a laugh. Nobody got hurt. Harry was obviously upset with me after the water incident but I was just happy. We'd qualified for the Champions League. I didn't play for Spurs much more after that but I'd do it again!"
Asked if there is anything he does look back on with shame, Bentley says no. Although one thing did come close.
"I suppose if I absolutely had to choose, the way I left Blackburn in 2008 could have been handled a bit better," he tells FFT. "I'd always given my best for Rovers but I felt it was time to move on. Spurs came in for me and it was a good opportunity. But I didn't really get the chance to explain myself to the fans or say goodbye.
"I did return to the club years later but that was different. It would have been nice to leave that first time on better terms. Still, that's not really a regret. Everything happens for a reason, like I said. That's my motto."
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