Thomas Hitzlsperger,31, has become the first Premier League footballer to come out as gay. The German international midfielder, who ended his playing career in September due to persistent injuries, said he came out in a bid to break the taboo of homosexuality in sport.
Thomas Hitzlsperger told Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper that now is ‘a good time’ for him to reveal his sexuality…
According to BBC Sports;
Former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger has revealed he is gay.
The 31-year-old, who won 52 caps for Germany and also played for West Ham and Everton, made the announcement in newspaper Die Zeit.
He is the most prominent footballer to publicly reveal his homosexuality and said it was “a good time” to do so.
“I’m coming out about my homosexuality because I want to move the discussion about homosexuality among professional sportspeople forwards,” he added.
The midfielder said he has only realised “in the past few years” that he would “prefer to live together with another man”, adding: “I’ve never been ashamed of the way I am.”
However, he said the issue is taboo inside the dressing room and it had not always been easy to live with some of the comments dished out on the subject.