Portray footballer as a nuisance (8)
I believe the answer is:
drawback
'a nuisance' is the definition.
(a drawback is a nuisance or negative quality)
'portray footballer' is the wordplay.
'portray' becomes 'draw' (to portray by drawing).
'footballer' becomes 'back' (back is a kind of footballer).
'draw'+'back'='DRAWBACK'
'as' is the link.
(Other definitions for drawback that I've seen before include "Fly in the ointment" , "Hindrance - retreat" , "Obstacle" , "Catch" , "Limitation, disadvantage" .)