“We see potential spies and enemies everywhere,” says David. “It can be at border control or it can be in a cafe. The other day, a guy was looking at me strangely, so I left without finishing my breakfast, and jumped in a taxi — asking the driver to take me to the wrong address.”David is an Eritrean footballer, a refugee who thinks government agents are still watching him even though he fled the country a long time ago and is now thousands of miles away. He felt like his future was being stolen from him yet insists he was one of the lucky ones. Though he recognises the importance of telling at least part of his story, he is thin on detail at times because the conversation makes him feel nervous. When he speaks to The Athletic, he talks quietly. He does not want anyone to hear what he is saying.