Martin Bengtsson

Martin Oskar Johan Bengtsson (born 14 March 1986) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career Bengtsson started playing football for IK Sturehov as a child and stayed with the club until he was signed by Örebro SK as a 15-year-old in 2002. He made his Allsvenskan debut at 17 years old for Örebro SK during the 2003 season in a game against Enköpings SK when he came on as a substitute for Mirza Jelecak. After the 2003 season, Bengtsson left Örebro SK to sign for the Serie A club Inter Milan. However, he left the Italian club after only nine months after suffering from depression and ultimately trying to take his own life.

International career Bengtsson appeared 20 times for the Sweden U17 team, scoring three goals. He also appeared twice for the Sweden U19 team.

In the book he reveals that nine months after signing with Inter, he tries to take his own life. He details that the reasons for this were sex addiction, drug abuse, loneliness and boredom.

In 2020, the book was adapted into a movie called Tigers directed by Ronnie Sandahl.

In an interview with Aftonbladet, Bengtsson describes the identity crisis that can occur when a footballer is injured and he feels "who am I if I am not a player?"

After quitting football, Bengtsson took up careers in journalism and music.

Career statistics

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International