John Paintsil has an unenviable record which I believe he is not too proud as the Ghanaian player with the most own goals in the English Premier League.

The Ghana full back joined the then English Premier League side Fulham in 2008 under English manager Roy Hodgson.

Paintsil was part of the Fulham side that reached the finals of the Europa League in 2009/2010 only to lose to Athletico Madrid but things turned sour when Hodgson left and was replaced by Mark Hughes.

It was under Mark Hughes that the Ghanaian explains went through hell and started scoring own goals for fun.

“When I joined Fulham in 2008 I was supposed to seal a four-year permanent deal with them but unfortunately for me, Roy Hodgson who brought me to the club left immediately after the 2010 world cup and I had to lift up my game to catch the eye and attention of the new manager Mark Hughes,” the former Hapoel Tel Aviv defender told Kasapa FM.

“I remember my first day at training after world cup I confronted Mark Hughes about my contract and to find out whether he has plans for me but he told me to give him two weeks to make a decision many days and months past but he was still procrastinating and this was causing me a severe despondency and dejection.

“In fact, I lost my mental strength and I began to score own goals in one of those moments. I scored four own goals in a month and this is unusual of me and this even got me thinking about retiring from the game. I believe I retired prematurely from football because of what I experienced at Fulham under Mark Hughes,” he added.

John Paintsil played for Fulham and West Ham in the English Premier League making a combined total of 94 appearances,providing two assist and helping in 26 clean sheets.