Adelaide United midfielder Josh Cavallo has come out as gay in a video on the club's social media account.
In doing so, the 21-year-old becomes the only known male footballer currently playing in any of world football's top-flight leagues to be out.
In the emotional video he told the camera: "I'm a footballer and I'm gay. All I want to do is play football and be treated equally.
"I'm tired of trying to perform at the best of your ability and to live this double life, it's exhausting.
"I thought that people would think of me differently when they found out. They would start treating me differently. They would start saying bad things about me or making fun out of me. That's not the case. If anything, you would earn more respect from people."
In a lengthy statement on his personal Twitter account, he added: "It's been a journey to get to this point in my life, but I couldn't be happier with my decision to come out. I have been fighting my sexuality for over six years now, and I'm glad I can put that to rest.
"For the people that know me personally, you'll know I'm a private person. Growing up, I always felt the need to hide myself because I was ashamed. Ashamed I would never be able to do what I loved and be gay. Hiding who I truly am, to pursue a dream I always wished for as a kid, to play football and be treated equally never felt like a reality.
"Being a gay closeted footballer, I've had to learn to mask my feelings in order to fit the mould of a professional footballer. Growing up being gay and playing football were just two worlds that hadn't crossed paths before. I've lived my life assuming that this was a topic never to be spoken about."
