London, Sept 7 : The "fantasy world" lifestyle that top footballers live has come to light after a blackmail case was exposed in detail in a courtroom.

The highflying lifestyle, which involves fast cars, glitzy jewellery and casual sex, and footballers video taping each other having sex with teenage admirers, has been revealed in the Manchester Crown Court.

It was "commonplace" among a circle of players revelling in the "high life" to videotape what was going on.

As per the claims filed in the court, a failed goalkeeper attempted to blackmail a Premiership footballer with footage of him having sex with a 19-year-old woman in his own home.

The accused Ashley Timms, who was jailed for 20 months for the attempt, had tried to extract 15,000 pounds from the player, known to the court only as Witness A, to pay for a deposit on a new house.

Timms, 22, a former trainee with Manchester City, had videotaped Witness A having sex with the lady, and when his career started going downhill, he decided to make money the easy way.

Timms, who had become friends with Witness A during his rise in the football world, had hinted that the footage could find its way onto the video sharing website YouTube if the money was not paid directly into his bank account.

He contacted his victim "out of the blue" in March, offering to let him "buy" the sex footage and then destroy it.

"I have got loads of pictures and the video of you. If you want them, make me an offer," the Telegraph quoted him as having said through a text message.

"There are three videos with everything on them - we can then move on," one message read.

Witness A alerted officials at his club and a meeting was arranged for a hotel where Timms, of Middleton, Manchester, described football as "a multi-million pound operation" and claimed the club would "not even notice" the pay-off.

But the player called in police shortly afterwards and Timms was arrested on April 4.

Passing sentence, Judge Andrew Gilbart told Timms that he had abused a friendship in a "calculated attempt" to extract money.

"What Witness A did was entirely consensual and entirely lawful and he had every right to expect and insist that it should not be broadcast to the wider public," he said.

Timms, who was arrested in April, pleaded guilty last month to making a series of unwarranted demands with menaces and was jailed on September 5.

ANI