Barry Bennell: Schoolboy's football dream soured after abuse, court told

Eight men are suing Manchester City, asserting Barry Bennell was a scout for the club when he abused them

A former England schoolboy football triallist has wept as he told the High Court how he "started not being a very nice person" after paedophile coach Barry Bennell "did what he did".

The dream of playing professionally "soured" after the abuse, the man said.

He said while he had continued to play as a child, he found he would "rather get in a fight" than show his ability.

Eight men are suing Manchester City, asserting Bennell was a scout when he abused them, which City have denied.

Mr Justice Johnson has heard the men were sexually and emotionally abused by Bennell between 1979 and 1985 and were claiming damages after suffering psychiatric injuries.

Six are also claiming damages for loss of potential football earnings.

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The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court he played in an England schoolboy trial and had been approached by clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United, while playing for a team coached by Bennell in Derbyshire.

He said Bennell was known to be linked to Manchester City and boys from the team would go on to sign associate schoolboy forms for the club.

The man said Bennell would choose "the most decent lads" from an area of Derbyshire, but sometimes boys from Scotland and Wales would "turn up" and play for the team.

He told the judge that after he was abused by Bennell, he "became aggressive playing football".

"When Bennell did what he did, that's the time I started not being a very nice person," he said.

"I tried to hurt people and, I am embarrassed to say that, although I still played football, I would rather get in a fight than show my ability.

"I played with a secret."

Manchester City have denied Bennell was working for the club at the time of the abuse and have said that while he was a local scout in the mid-1970s, he did not hold the role between 1979 and 1985.

Bennell is serving a 34-year jail term after being convicted in 2018 and 2020 of more than 50 sexual offences against boys.

He had previously received jail sentences in relation to child abuse in the UK and in the US in 1995, 1998 and 2015.

The trial continues.

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