Troy Deeney says his dad once picked him up from football with a drug dealer in the boot of the car.
The striker recently signed for Birmingham City. He was also playing for Walsall.
Writing for Central Recorder, the 33-year-old says his dad came watching him in an away game against Northampton Town, and drove him home in a blue Mercedes.
Deeney was shocked to learn that his father had never driven a car and had never even passed a driving exam.
As they drove down the M1, the car’s boot was banging loudly when they stopped to fill up with petrol.
Deeney’s dad, Paul Anthony Burke, told him: “Don’t worry about that. There’s someone in there but I’m going to drop him off in a bit. He owes my pal some money, so I’ve taken him on a little journey for the day.
“I’ve fed him and he’s fine. We’ll drop him off later and I bet he pays.”
The man in the boot was a small-time drug dealer from the Chelmsley Wood estate, which is eight miles east of Birmingham city centre.
Deeney claims that his father was a career criminal who could be violent but took care of him.
Although there were some troubling times, the former Watford captain will always consider Paul Anthony Burke as his ‘superhero’ for taking care of him, despite not being his biological son.
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(Image: TALKSPORT)
Deeney merely considers his birth father, Colin Hemmings as a sperm donor, after he left when he was a baby and had very little to do with the family.
His adoptive father taught him life lessons and helped him play football when he needed it.