Andy Carroll breaks silence on 2021 assault in candid new book

Former England striker Andy Carroll has revealed he was sexually assaulted by a man at his home in 2021, disclosing the ordeal for the first time in his autobiography released on Thursday.

The 37-year-old, who is now player and co-owner of non-league side Dagenham & Redbridge, says the perpetrator was jailed for three years and placed on the sex offender register after being found guilty of sexual offences.

"I was sexually assaulted, there I said it"

In a passage written with remarkable openness, Carroll explained why he chose to include the incident in his memoir at the eleventh hour.

"I was sexually assaulted, there I said it," he wrote. "Scary to even think about and only a few people knew about it before now. Me and Lou spent a lot of time discussing whether to mention it in this book or not. I avoided my publisher for so long that they probably suspected I got cold feet."

He added: "Scary to talk about but it's made [me] the person I am today as much as any of the good stuff. And if me talking about it helps just one person then good, it will have been worth it."

The night of the attack

The incident took place at Carroll's home during his second spell with hometown club Newcastle. A friend of his former partner — who was away at the time — had come to stay over after watching a boxing match at his house.

Carroll says the attack occurred while he was sleeping. He threw the man out of the house, then knocked him unconscious as the attacker tried to return. The former Liverpool and West Ham forward called the police and was, in his words, "sobbing" in the arms of his children's nanny.

Carroll testified in court, a process he describes as "humiliating and embarrassing and absolutely horrendous."

Lasting trauma

Carroll, who won nine England caps and has also played for Reading, West Brom and French sides Amiens and Bordeaux, said the aftermath touched every part of his life.

"What happened to me affected every facet of my life," he wrote. "I'd think about it every day, making it difficult to focus on anything else, including football… The trauma of what happened to me hasn't gone away."

He said he decided to include the account in the book "at the very last minute" after discussing it with his girlfriend Lou Teasdale.

Carroll joined Dagenham in July 2025 and has made six appearances in the National League South this season.