Guilt over Gary Speed's death made me quit being The Secret FootballerThe Secret Footballer has been revealed, with a former Premier League star revealing the death of Wales legend Gary Speed eventually led to him quitting writing. ‌Kitson, a former Reading, Stoke City, Sheffield United and Portsmouth star, began writing under the pseudonym The Secret Footballer earlier the same year of Speed’s death. ‌“I said there was a mental health epidemic and I predicted it was only a matter of time before someone took their own life. “That’s when the Secret Footballer stopped being fun. "I am The Secret Footballer.

Source: Express February 18, 2026 01:01 UTC