Former Sunderland winger Adam Johnson told police that he and his girlfriend Stacey Flounders "had a few arguments" about him "texting girls" prior to his arrest for allegedly having a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old girl, a court has heard.
The 28-year-old is currently on trial at Bradford Crown Court on two counts of sexual activity with a child, which he denies.
Johnson has pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child and a further count of grooming.
On Friday, Detective Constable Kimberley Walton of Durham Police, who arrested Johnson in March last year, told the jury that she took the footballer to a games room in his home, leaving his girlfriend on the stairs.
DC Walton told the jury: "At the time of the caution and arrest of Adam Johnson he was stood by a bar area. He had to hold on to it and he became a little bit shaky."
When Johnson spoke to his girlfriend, he told Miss Flounders the girl's name and that "I just gave her a couple of shirts".
Miss Flounders asked how old the girl was and Johnson replied: "Well, she said she was 16."
The sportsman, who has earned 12 England caps during his career, is alleged to have had a sex act performed on him in his Range Rover after he met the girl following numerous online messages.
Johnson is accused of creating a Snapchat account solely to interact with the girl, and during his police interview, the footballer said: "With me having a girlfriend, it's obviously not a very nice thing to do. She could see if I was talking to other people.
"It was mainly so my girlfriend wouldn't be suspicious. We have had a few arguments about me texting girls. I have admitted I have texted people before and she wouldn't believe me if it came up again."
The jury also heard from the police interview that Johnson was wary of making the girl angry. He said: "She might, like, say to my girlfriend and if word gets about that she's been kissing me and getting shirts it would be really bad."
When asked in the police interview how he felt about the situation, Johnson said: "Yeah, the worst day of my life. It started, what I was trying to do was a good deed. I feel terrible, absolutely terrible."
Miss Flounders is the mother of Johnson's young daughter.
