David Ginola lifts the lid on cardiac arrest he suffered during friend's charity match: 'My heart stopped for eight minutes... I was dead'

  • David Ginola collapsed during a friend's charity match, suffering a heart attack
  • Former footballer was airlifted to hospital and underwent a six-hour operation
  • Ginola has now spoken out about the incident, in which he died for eight minutes
  • Ex-Spurs man says he is now more sensitive and believes he is here for a reason

Former Tottenham footballer David Ginola has told of the dramatic moment he died for eight minutes after collapsing during a charity match in the south of France.

The 50-year-old swallowed his tongue in the fall and received CPR as he was rushed to hospital, while friends watched on in horror.

Now, just over a year on, Ginola is back fighting fit and has lived to tell the tale of his on-pitch heart attack and the quadruple bypass which followed.

David Ginola attended the last game at White Hart Lane, after recovering from the heart attack

David Ginola attended the last game at White Hart Lane, after recovering from the heart attack

Ginola says he now views life with a different perspective after coming so close to dying

Ginola says he now views life with a different perspective after coming so close to dying

'I was running back to the halfway line when boom, my heart just stopped and I hit the ground face-first,' he told The Sun on Sunday


'The players thought I was joking but then my friend said, "Look at him, he is not OK, he is not fooling around." 

'I swallowed my tongue and my friends fought to get it out of my throat, but my teeth kept clamping down on their fingers. Someone called the emergency services and they said, "Forget the tongue, he is dead, his heart has stopped, you need to concentrate on pumping his chest."

'My heart stopped for eight minutes at least. There was no pulse. I was dead. Then the air ambulance arrived and they hooked me up to a defibrillator. They sent three electric shocks to my chest and when the third didn't work they started to lose hope.

'But my friends told them, "Do not give up, David is fighting hard." Somehow they could see that my body was fighting to stay alive. After the fourth my heart started again. The ambulance worker turned to my friends and said, "I have a pulse." Everyone started cheering and crying.'

Ginola has footballer friend Frederic Mendy to thank after the Jeju United player performed CPR on him after he hit the ground.

The ex-PSG, Newcastle and Aston Villa player was rushed to a specialist cardiac hospital in Monaco by air ambulance, where a six-hour operation was performed.

Ginola's heart stopped working for eight minutes and he had no pulse after his on-pitch fall

Ginola's heart stopped working for eight minutes and he had no pulse after his on-pitch fall

Ginola, pictured with his former Newcastle team-mate Faustino Asprilla, came close to dying

Ginola, pictured with his former Newcastle team-mate Faustino Asprilla, came close to dying

His family were warned they may never be able to speak to Ginola again, because his brain had been starved of oxygen for so long he might be left in a vegetative state.

Instead, he has recovered fully from his frightening experience, and is now able to re-tell the story to raise awareness of cardiac risk.  

'I've been asking myself why I deserve a second chance,' Ginola admits. 'I'm more sensitive, more philosophical. I don’t keep my feelings in any more. I feel very lucky, like I am here for a reason.'

He was given on-pitch CPR and airlifted to a nearby cardio hospital in the south of France

He was given on-pitch CPR and airlifted to a nearby cardio hospital in the south of France