St Étienne left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto says that he prefers to buy his football boots from online shopping platforms like eBay.

This comes as a major surprise considering that most footballers are given huge sponsorship deals and their gear is usually covered by the sponsors. The former Tottenham left back says that he often buys the shoes for around € 30. Apart from saving him a lot of money, this also helps him to stand out from the rest of the crowd. The 31-year-old is currently with the French outfit after having moved last summer.

He is one of the popular names from Cameroon football to have his presence in the Premier League. However, he retired from international duty in 2014 after falling out with the Cameroon FA. The 31-year-old has made a first-team regular for St Etienne and has already featured in 13 games for the club. He says that it is largely difficult to get sponsorships as an African footballer. He highlighted the difficulties of doing business outside Europe. This means that he is able to watch most of European teammates enjoy the benefits of huge sponsorships from sportswear companies like Nike and so on.

Left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto was an established starter at White Hart Lane and spent almost a decade at the club. “Sometimes I find boots for 30 Euros. These are good deals for comfortable boots. When I used to eat out in manchester I used to use offers. I got a Boots are currently expensive. To be fashionable is expensive, but you can distinguish yourself by being retro. I prefer to be free rather than whoring myself out for a sponsor. In all honesty, when you are an African player it is not incentivising to have a sponsor. When you are European, it is better because their business is done in Europe,” said the former Spurs defender about his lack of sponsorship.