A Premier League legend was tricked into taking Viagra by his laughing team-mates and fumed at the “bang out of order” culprits – Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe
A former Premier League hero claimed he was duped into taking Viagra by his team-mates and left running around with a boner.
Ex-West Ham ace Carlton Cole was on fire for the Hammers in the late 2000s, when he hit double figures in the Premier League in back-to-back seasons in 2008-09 and 2009-10. His form earned him a call-up by then England manager Fabio Capello, where he linked up with two practical jokers behind a very cheeky prank.
Cole, who turned 43 on Monday (October 12) made his Three Lions debut as a substitute in a 2-0 friendly defeat against Spain in February 2009, when he had a late effort cleared off the line. It was the closest he got to scoring for his country, as he failed to find the net in a further six appearances off the bench. But his time on international duty was certainly eventful, thanks to a trick that left him “running with a third leg”.
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
The former Chelsea youth academy star blamed Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe for the incident, which he once detailed on In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet.
He said: “I was away with England. I actually forgot about this before speaking with Jermain Defoe. He was part of it, he’s a wrong ‘un! He spiked me basically.
“This is what it was. We used to get little supplements with our food sometimes in the morning. Just supplements. So Wayne Rooney, he put something down that I didn’t know, it was this little thing.”
“He goes, ‘Oh, take that as well. That’s the new one.’ It was blue. I can’t remember exactly how it went, but I’ve gone, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ I just want to be around the lads. I’m trying to impress. I’m trying to make sure I’m doing everything.
“So, I’m going, ‘Yeah, man.’ The thing is, I’ve taken it, washed it back, but I didn’t notice anything, and everyone’s laughing behind me.”
“It’s only until [I’m] like, ‘Why is everyone laughing?’ And everyone’s going, ‘Well, that was Viagra that you took. That blue pill.’ I was like, ‘Oh, serious?'”
Cole, who netted 51 Premier League goals over 13 seasons in England’s top division, said he hadn’t even heard of Viagra at that point in his life.
Nevertheless, the severity of the prank quickly hit the teenager as shock transformed into dismay, though he refused to let it disrupt his training session.
He continued: “But obviously, how am I supposed to even know? Who’s come to training with a Viagra pill anyway? Like, what are you doing? And then you give it to me.
“Like, it’s bang out of order. Anything could have happened, you know? And a lot did happen that day at training. Nice to see you. Nice to say that I was probably the quickest on the pitch, yeah. So I was running with three legs.”
Cole was enjoying the pinnacle of his career with West Ham when Capello selected him for the squad.
He achieved a personal best of 12 goals in all competitions during the 2008/09 season, surpassed only by the 15 he bagged while in the Championship, when he assisted the Hammers in securing promotion back to England’s top tier three years later.
He later played for Scottish giants Celtic, Sacramento Republic in the United Soccer League and Persib Bandung in Liga 1 in Indonesia, before hanging up his boots in 2017.
In December 2018, Cole rejoined West Ham to work with the club’s academy players, providing support to under-18 coaches, before he was later named loans and pathway manager.