Benoit Assou-Ekotto has denied suggestions that he is to retire from football and begin a career as a porn star.

The rumours began when Birmingham City manager Harry Redknapp, who previously worked with the 33-year-old at Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, claimed in a podcast that he had approached the left-back about joining him in the Midlands but was informed that he had been contemplating a career change.

Assou-Ekotto - currently a free agent after leaving Metz this summer - admitted that he was "surprised" by the story but insisted that it was Relknapp's idea of a joke.

"A lady in England alerted me on Twitter at the time, it rather surprised me," he told France Football. "From what I understood, it was in a show, Redknapp was asked about the players he would like to recruit. He talked about me, joked, and then he moved on.

"It made me laugh, but my mother discovered it this morning, Mother's Day. She told me she would have preferred another gift.

"It was just a joke, it's not bad. What's absurd is that we can take it seriously. As if I wanted to become a porn actor! It's far too taboo."

During his time with Metz, Assou-Ekotto made 19 appearances in all competitions and was sent off twice.