Le Tissier: I received 'naked' massage from ex-Southampton coach

Matt Le Tissier, one of the finest footballers in the history of Southampton, says he was subject to "very, very wrong" treatment at the hands of the club's ex-youth development officer and alleged paedophile Bob Higgins.

The former England international and scorer of 209 goals for the Saints is the highest-profile player to be linked to the abuse scandal that has torn through the country's game. Eighteen police forces are believed to be investigating as many as 55 clubs over the reported criminal conduct, both historic and current, of their employees.

The scandal gained momentum last month, when former Crewe Alexandra player Andy Woodward shared his harrowing account of the abuse he suffered from ex-coach and serial paedophile Barry Bennell to the Guardian's Daniel Taylor. Since then, around 20 retired professionals have come forward with their own stories of abuse relating to Bennell, Higgins, and other former and present-day employees of English clubs.

Now Le Tissier, one of the most celebrated names of the Premier League era, is the latest to share a story from his playing days.

"Everyone was kind of just naked and getting thrown on this bed and ... a very, very quick massage," Le Tissier told BBC News at 6, according to The Mirror's Patrick Lion.

"It was was uncomfortable. It was very, very wrong."

Higgins, who The Sun's Jim Sheridan understands was dubbed a "star-finder" on the south coast, is credited with discovering the likes of Le Tissier and Alan Shearer, who both went on to become some of the most recognisable figures in the country's game.

This latest development in the reported abuse of Higgins comes a day after a 1989 letter from The Football League (now the EFL) was unearthed that warned clubs of involvement with his soccer school, "The Bob Higgins Soccer Academy."

The ex-youth coach was also "considered a risk to children" in a warning letter sent out by the Hampshire Police in 1997, according to The Sun's Sheridan. He lost his job at Peterborough United, a post he took in the mid-1990s, due to "mutual consent" the same year.

The Guardian's Stuart James and Steven Morris reported on Monday that Higgins was still working in football at Fleet Town only last month, despite losing his job at Winchester City in 2002 on the recommendation of Hampshire Social Services.

In a bid to ensure transparency and justice through the police and in-house investigations into clubs, The Offside Trust has been established by Woodward and other victims of historic abuse at Manchester's Midland hotel on Monday.

Related: Several British clubs hushed up abuse, says victims' lawyer