The Sunderland-born winger, who previously played for Manchester City FC before moving to Sunderland FC in a £10 million move in 2012, has been sacked by the club after he plead guilty to the charge of having sexual relations with a minor girl.
A club statement read: “In light of Adam Johnson’s guilty pleas, the club has today terminated his contract with immediate effect. The club will make no further comment.”
The winger plead guilty to one count of grooming and one count of sexual activity with a minor but is still denying two more counts of sexual assault of a minor.
The 28-year-old England international has earned 12 caps playing for his national side and has made 141 appearances for the Black Cats. His impressive form at Sunderland helped him get back on the England national team sheet.
Johnson is a youth product of Middlesborough FC and was bought by Manchester City FC for £7 million in 2010.
Promising start and an astonishing end for winger Adam Johnson
Although a promising signing at that time, Johnson failed to make any impact at Manchester City and was largely a surplus to their needs. He made a total of 97 appearances and scored 15 goals over a period of three seasons before being sold to Sunderland FC.
Adam Johnson made his last appearance for Sunderland FC in a 2-2 draw against Liverpool FC on Saturday. He scored in that game, in what was his second goal this season.
Johnson hasn’t only lost the contract with his club, sportswear brand Adidas have also cut ties with him. Adidas issued a statement that said, “We’ve terminated Adam Johnson’s contract with immediate effect following his guilty plea on Wednesday. We’ve issued letters and verbally confirmed that with his management.”
The going was already tough for the player following his arrest in March last year, following which he faced suspension. But it seems to be the end of the road for Adam Johnson now, at least at Sunderland FC.
