According to a veteran pubgoer in Stockport, greater Manchester, Benni McCarthy used to play a lot of poker at his local pub back in 2006. This was soon after the South African had joined nearby Blackburn Rovers and bought a house on the outskirts of Stockport. Commenting on the website The Athletic this week, the pubgoer wrote that Benni drank only soft drinks, but his sobriety did not help his woeful cards skills. Apparently, he did not realise that his sunglasses kept reflecting his hands to his opponents.
This all may be apocryphal or grossly exaggerated. The source also claimed that Benni was obsessed with fire engines, for some reason, and once drove a fire engine to the pub in question, which sounds a bit improbable.
