England star Sol Campbell has dismissed rumours suggesting he is gay, claiming he is just shy.

The defender has not only had to endure death threats and Judas taunts since his controversial transfer from Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal 18 months ago but also stories claiming he is a closet homosexual.

He said he had now had enough of the slurs because they were affecting his family.

"Their lies don't really hurt me, but when it starts affecting my family that's when it moves on to a different level. I want my family name back for my mother and father. Dispelling these lies means a hell of a lot to me," he said.

The footballer, who earns a rumoured £100,000-a-week and lives in a £2million house in Hertfordshire, said meeting the right woman had been difficult.

"Like 90 per cent of footballers, when we meet a woman, we are thinking 'are they just after me for my money?' You get suspicious of strangers, you really have to think what's their agenda.

"I don't go to all the premieres and top restaurants. I go to local restaurants and cinemas. So because people haven't seen me in the papers with women, they assume things. I'm also quite shy when it comes to women."

 

Campbell, one of England's World Cup stars in the summer, has previously been linked to model Gabrielle Richens and singer Christina Milian and is currently dating 27-year-old estate agent Theresa Lartey.

He said: "I'm very fond of her. We have good conversations, it's going OK. We're taking it nice and easy."

He stressed he eventually wants to get married and have children but at the moment he wants to concentrate on his career.

"When I come to the end of my career, when my focus is on something else, I will look at my life in a different way. I want kids, I want a happy family. I want to create a kind of dynasty."

The defender, who made his England debut at 20, said he has had three "real" relationships but was not yet ready to settle down.

"I don't like it when things get too deep. I like it when both of you want to chill because I've got too many demands out there and I don't need any more when I'm back home. I like to switch off and be by myself," he said.

"I've had people around me all my life. When I do live with a woman it will have to be the right one. The woman who comes into my environment has to be someone who doesn't mess up my environment."

Campbell said the criticism he attracted when he made his free transfer across London was to be expected.

However, he admitted the taunts that followed, as websites and terrace chants put out messages claiming the 28-year-old was gay, had taken him by surprise.

He said he had to make a stand against the "bitter, twisted, jealous liars" who were stealing his family name.

"They try and corrupt my family through jealousy and bitterness. But no more are they going to hold me in bondage.

"I didn't realise that at such a young age I would have to face up to abuse for being myself and doing my job as well as I can.

"People don't appreciate how hard it can be, especially coming from a big, black family in the East End of London," he told the Daily Mirror.

Campbell said growing up in a three-bedroom terrace house in Stratford with nine brothers and two sisters had made him determined to reach the top - and perhaps explained why he is yet to marry.

"I'm a single-minded, independent human being and that's the reason I've got where I am today.

"I've had to be ruthless with myself and people around me because football is a short career.

"I am looking for someone but it's not easy. I want someone who can understand how hard you have to work at things." 

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