After spending almost 18 months without a football club, Michael Mifsud says that a combination of bad decisions and trusting the wrong people kept him away from the game he loves.

“I was caught in a small trap,” Mr Mifsud tells The Sunday Times in an interview.

The 30-year-old Malta captain signed up for a five-year contract with champions Valletta FC at the beginning of summer after spending a year and a half without a football club.

Mr Mifsud had turned down a number of offers from foreign clubs and football enthusiasts were baffled by his behaviour after having played top-flight football in Germany, England and Norway.

Speaking for the first time about his ordeal, Mr Mifsud admits he made some wrong decisions but also lifts the lid on what he describes as “a lot of bad people surrounding the game” of football.

“Unfortunately, I made wrong decisions in my football career but sometimes people who are supposed to help end up working against you. Nobody knows this but I was caught in a small trap where a person who was supposed to help me, worked against me.”

Mr Mifsud says that throughout the period he never stopped training but does not blame people for questioning his decision. He justifies the break, adding it gave him the chance to get away from the “management” issues that were distracting him.

Notching up four goals in the last three international matches and having a brilliant start with Valletta FC, Mr Mifsud does not seem to have lost his touch.