Former Liverpool player Jordon Ibe pulled a braid from his ex-girlfriend's head during an argument, a court was told.
Ibe, 30, assaulted his former partner, Amie Mayson, outside her home in Lambeth, south London.
The pair were having a row on 14 December when Ms Mayson confronted Ibe and demanded he repay her money she said he owed her, Croydon Magistrates' Court heard.
Ibe had a bag containing drinks, snacks, and flowers, prosecutors said, but when Ms Mayson threw muffins on the floor and called him a "druggy", he grabbed her by her hair.
Ibe pulled a braid from Ms Mayson's head, leaving her with a bald patch, the court heard.
Ms Mayson said the assault greatly affected her confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth in a victim impact statement read to the court on Tuesday.
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"Looking in the mirror is very distressing for me, the injury is a constant reminder of what happened and often leaves me feeling emotionally drained and upset," she said in the statement.
Ibe spoke to confirm his personal details and to change his plea to guilty, having previously denied the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in March.
He apologised for getting his postcode slightly wrong, telling the court: "Sorry, I'm a bit nervous."
The former England under-21 international made 41 appearances for Liverpool before spells at Derby County, Birmingham City, and AFC Bournemouth.
He made 92 appearances for Bournemouth between 2016 and 2020.
Ibe now plays for Lokomotiv Sofia in the Bulgarian First League, the highest in the country.
In the last two years he had been playing non-league football before securing the move to the Bulgarian capital in November 2025.
District Judge Polly Gledhill told the court: "We are in community order territory and I am going to ask for a pre-sentence report. I am not ruling anything out."
She urged Ibe to be "as honest and open" with probation as possible, ahead of his sentencing.
Ibe was bailed with conditions not to contact Ms Mayson or to visit her address.
Judge Gledhill told Ibe, who lives between Chislehurst, south-east London, and Bulgaria, he will be sentenced at the same court on 4 September.
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