Hull City player tells of fighting to get out of poverty

Hull City player Moses Odubajo has told of his teenage years living virtually penniless in a council flat with his brother after his mother's sudden death.

Odubajo, then 13, had to survive on a few pounds a day with his brother Tom Bolarinwa, 15, after their mother died from Malaria she contracted on a trip to Ghana.

The full-back, who is now thought to earn £40,000 a week, described how they sustained themselves by eating tins of sweetcorn and corned beef.

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Hull City player Moses Odubajo (left) has told of his teenage years living virtually penniless in a council flat with his brother after his mother's sudden death

'If the gas meter ran out, it ran out. We'd fling extra jumpers on because we'd rather eat,' he told The Sunday People.

'They were tough times but we never felt sorry for ourselves, that’s not the way mum raised us. She just got on with life, so we did

d The 23-year-old, who was born in Greenwich, lost his mother, Esther, when she was aged 45 in September 2006.

Odubajo and his brother lived in a flat in Downham, south London, with their stepdad visiting one day each week to hand over the £20 Family Allowance.

Their other sibling, Idris, fell into crime.

Social services did not pick up on the pair's case because Esther had died in Uganda.

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Odubajo, then 13, had to survive on a few pounds a day with his brother Tom Bolarinwa, 15, after their mother died from Malaria she contracted on a trip to Ghana

The pair did not want to be found by social workers because they feared being split up.

Odubajo gave up football for a period after Esther's death, but joined Leyton Orient on a youth scholarship in 2009.

He played for St Albans City and Sutton United in the Conference South, before moving to Bishop's Stortford on loan.

After reported interest from Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, he joined Brentford, taking the number 10 shirt left vacant by Farid El Alagui.

Odubajo, who is five-foot-eight tall and weighs just over 11 stone, made his England debut for the U20s against Mexico in July 2015.

He joined Hull City in August 2015 for £4.25million. 

Odubajo ruptured a ligament in his knee during a friendly against Grimsby last month, meaning he is likely to be out until 2017.

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