Blackpool's Jake Daniels 'overwhelmed' by love and support he's been shown since coming out

It’s been a momentous week for the 17-year-old, who made the announcement during an interview with Sky Sports on Monday.

The Blackpool forward became the first active gay male footballer since Justin Fashanu in 1990.

Daniels also becomes only the second current male player in world football to come out as gay, following in the footsteps of Josh Cavallo, of Australian side Adelaide United.

Other former players, including former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, came out when their careers had ended.

Daniels’ announcement has since gone worldwide, with prominent figures like Boris Johnson, Prince William, Harry Kane and Gary Lineker offering their support.

Now the news has died down a little, Daniels has taken to Twitter to release a statement.

“I’ve taken some time away to digest everything that’s happened and collate my thoughts,” he said.

“I’ve been overwhelmed by all the messages of love and support I’ve received. It’s been incredibly touching.

“I just want to say a massive thank you to Blackpool FC for everything over the past few months - you have been incredible.

“To my family and friends for giving me the strength to continue to move forward in my life. I owe you so much.”

In other news, Blackpool’s leading supporters’ group has written to the FA questioning the purpose of their investigation into Marvin Ekpiteta’s historical tweets.

A series of Ekpiteta’s posts from 2012 and 2013 emerged last week, not long after teammate Daniels became the first active male footballer in the UK to come out since Justin Fashanu in 1990.

In one of the tweets, the 26-year-old - who was 17 at the time - appeared to support the decision of the Nigerian parliament to outlaw gay marriage.

In another, Ekpiteta said it was “disgusting” that there were five gay people in the “small village” of Hollyoaks, a fictional soap opera.

After the defender’s past posts came to light, Ekpiteta - whose tweets are now under investigation by the FA - released a swift statement to apologise.