Karren Brady is the ‘devil with tits’ says McCarthy

South African footballer Benni McCarthy, once of Blackburn and West Ham, has launched a stinging attack on European football clubs claiming they "victimised and intimidated" African players and did not give a "rat's ass" about them.

He also rounded on West Ham chief executive Karren Brady, who once described McCarthy as a "big fat mistake", calling her "the devil with a set of tits".

McCarthy, who spent 14 years in Europe, said that with the exception of Ajax, all the clubs he had played for had tried to prevent him representing his country. He told the South African Sunday Times: "They get [African players] for peanuts and sell them for big bucks. And, when it comes to releasing you for the national team, they give you problems. They don't give a rat's ass what happens to you and your country. They say if you want to save your career, sign this statement that says you want to concentrate on your club career."

The 33-year-old striker, who was released by West Ham after a dismal 14-month spell at Upton Park has now signed for the Orlando Pirates in Johannesburg. During his time in Europe he played for Ajax, Celta Vigo, Porto, Blackburn and West Ham.

Things did not go well at his final club. He was unfit and overweight for much of the time he was there and only made 13 appearances for the Hammers.

When his contract was terminated earlier this year Brady described him in the Sun as "a player devoted to filling his belly more than filling the net". When asked about her comments McCarthy said: "It makes me want to throw up. There's the devil with a set of tits."

He appears not to miss Europe, and England in particular, telling the paper: "I lived in Amsterdam and, just as I was getting comfortable, I had to move to Spain. You start buying a house then it's boom, you have to move on to another country like England. Even though England is the best when it comes to football, I could not live in that country."

However, he admitted that his life was better than it had been when he was a youngster when he used to hang around with criminals. "We sometimes robbed people in the train," he confessed. "We used to steal just like the other boys in the Cape Flats. I was a devil. I was lucky because I had a strict dad. If my dad found out he hammered me." ·