Emmanuel Eboue reveals how his struggle with depression and being banned made him lie to his children to the point he would leave the house to convince them he was still playing In 2018, Emmanuel Eboue admitted he had been on the brink of suicide Eboue's financial problems have been well documented over the last two years He served a one-year ban in 2016 after failing to pay a former agent of his The 36-year-old left Sunderland in April 2016 and never played football again By Tom Farmery For Mailonline Published: 19:28 BST, 11 June 2019 | Updated: 19:28 BST, 11 June 2019 Viewcomments Emmanuel Eboue has told how his ban from football in 2016 led him to lie to his children to convince them he was still playing. Eboue, who has struggled with mental health and financial difficulties, was served with a one-year ban in 2016 when playing for Sunderland for failing to pay a former agent. The former Arsenal midfielder has now revealed that to cover up his ban to his children, he would leave the house and not come back for long stretches to give the impression all was fine. Emmanuel Eboue was banned from football for one year while at Sunderland in 2016 'I couldn't train during the day and was too embarrassed to stay at home,' he told RMC Sport. 'My children always asked me when I was going to return to the field, so whenever I stepped out in the morning, I pretended to go to work. 'Unbeknown to my children I was staying outside and returning home when they were already in bed. I didn't want them to ask me why they didn't see me play on television.' The former Arsenal midfielder has struggled with mental health and financial difficulties Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility