Andy Carroll sums up type of ex-Liverpool player he is with comments on playing for Bordeaux

Andy Carroll has shown his class by claiming his football career has "never been about money" after dropping to the French fourth tier.

The former Reds striker recently linked up with financially-stricken, former Ligue 1 champions Bordeaux in order to help the club on its journey back to the higher leagues following an administrative double relegation to the Championnat National 2.

It came on the back of Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) withdrawing from a potential takeover of the club , having held talks with the French outfit during the summer. However, Bordeaux was forced to give up its professional status and close down its training ground, while terminating the contracts of all its players.

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Les Girondins have since begun life in the fourth tier with three draws and a defeat and currently sits second-bottom of the 16-team Group B, where it competes with the likes of Bourges Foot 18, a club formed as recently as 2021 that is currently owned by former Liverpool star Sadio Mane .

But this doesn't seem to matter to Carroll , who is simply focused on helping the club getting back to where it “deserves to be" - even if it is costing him money. According to reports, the 35-year-old is earning around €875 ($977/£731) per week.

"To be honest, it’s even costing me money to come and play for Bordeaux but I’m playing football and I am simply happy to be playing football," he told RMC Sport . " I want to be a part of this club’s history and to be frank, it wasn’t a question of money. In my career, it’s never been a question of money."

Prior to joining Bordeaux, Carroll had been plying his trade with Ligue 2 side Amiens after a release clause was triggered in his Reading contract 12 months ago. In 35 appearances for the club, the former England international scored four times and provided one assist.

But his Bordeaux career couldn't have gotten off to a better start. Having been thrown straight into the starting lineup for last weekend's 2-2 draw with Voltigeurs de Châteaubriant, Carroll scored a late brace to rescue his side a point in front of 10,466 spectators on its return to the Matmut Atlantique.

Bordeaux has become Carroll's eight club of his career and sixth since leaving Liverpool, having also turned out for West Ham , Newcastle , Reading and West Brom and Amiens since his Anfield departure in 2013. The former Reds striker left Merseyside just two-and-a-half years after his $46million (£35m) move from Newcastle on deadline day in January 2011, having scored just 11 goals in 58 appearances for the club prior to his departure.