‘I don’t care’ – Andros Townsend found surprise new club where he dries himself with a sock

Andros Townsend made headlines with a shock move to Thailand earlier this summer, but as he told talkSPORT, it was a long road to get there.

The 13-time England international and regular commentator took a not untravelled path to the Turkish Super Lig upon leaving his home country in 2024, but a year later he’s miles out of his comfort zone.

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Announced as a new signing for Kanchanaburi Power F.C. standing upon the historical landmark of the bridge over the River Quay, this was far from a publicity stunt.

In fact, his path to Thailand it started when his initial move from Luton to Turkey with Antalyaspor went awry.

“Towards the back end of last season I was playing in Turkey and I hadn’t been paid a few month’s salary,” he explained. 

“The club said to me ‘you can take your salary – but you’re never going to play for the club again’ so I took the salary.

“I hadn’t played since March, got a bit frustrated, so in the summer I said to Marlon [my agent] I don’t care where I go, just take me somewhere nice, interesting and tropical. 

“He came back with one or two options in Europe but for some reason my gut was just really interested about the option in Thailand.”

In Townsend’s case his gut isn’t a metaphor, but in fact literally the reason why he’s still playing today at the age of 34.

The former Tottenham and Crystal Palace winger actually needed a change of diet, not just lifestyle, to get him out of an injury crisis at Everton.

“In 2021 I ruptured my ACL, couldn’t get fit, took me about a year and a bit,” he explained.

“Nothing was working and as a last resort I turned to nature and turned to more alternative medicine and more natural foods and within two or three months I was back in the Premier League with Luton. 

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“I signed a two-and-a-half year deal playing against the world’s top sides again so the change in mentality really did help me get back playing because there was one stage where I thought my career was over at the age of 32.”

For Townsend, venturing outside of Europe was the best way to step outside of a processed food diet, but he’s even taken it to what many in the western world would consider extreme lengths, eating chicken feet as a snack.

“That’s why I’m here,” he said with a laugh. “The first thing I searched for when I got here was the chicken feet.

“It’s quite a big thing in Asia and Thailand so I managed to find it as soon as I touched down.”

Continuing on his new way of life, he said: “It’s a stripped back way of living, there’s a farmer’s market everywhere you look. 

“There’s natural food, natural produce and it’s a really relaxing way of living and for my change of focus in the last few years it’s a perfect place for me to come and play football for however long it is.”

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However, it isn’t just the food that stripped back, but also Thai football itself, as Townsend found out with hilarious results after his first shower with his new team.

He recalled: “There was a match yesterday, I wasn’t involved but I went to watch and after my shower there was no towel, I had to dry myself with a sock. 

“That probably tells you everything you need to know about where Thai football is at the moment.

“I was expecting that I might have to take my own boots or equipment but I genuinely thought a towel would be one of the basics the club would bring, but no, lesson learned.”

Townsend is yet to debut for his new side – the 16th club of his life – but he can see himself sticking around, even with a burgeoning media career.

“I’m at a stage in my life where I’ve got nothing to prove to anyone,” he said. 

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“I’ve achieved everything I wanted to achieve and more and some people get to my age and think ‘I don’t want to take that offer because it’s bizarre, it’s a surprise, it’s a fall from grace’, but I really don’t care what people say or think. 

“This opportunity really excited me. I get to live an amazing life and do what I love every day as well, which is playing football. I get to combine the two and this is why I’m here.

“I had a great career in England financially and success wise so it’s not about proving anything. 

“It’s about coming here and experiencing a new culture, a new way of playing, a new standard, so I’m really excited, this is what’s keeping me going, that I’m trying new things.

“By many experts I was predicted to have to retire by the age of 32 due to my injuries so I am on borrowed time, but my body is feeling amazing so I will go as long as I still enjoy it, as long as I feel I can offer something to the game at whatever level that is, so if it’s down to me I’d love to play another three or four years.”

But what of Townsend’s media appearances? Well you can still expect to hear him on talkSPORT, even from his new home in Thailand.

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He explained: “The good thing is I did the Club World Cup this summer, I’m due to do the World Cup next summer.

“I’m keeping myself active enough that people still hear my voice and remember my voice and see my face, so when that time comes it won’t be a hard transition for me to go full time in the media if that’s what I want to do.”