The problem with the fans and discriminatory phrases
Then the atmosphere between the fans, the management and the Leeds players became heavy and the midfielder found himself in the crossfire: “I like to think that I’m a thick-skinned person. When you get little comments here and there, it’s pretty easy to ignore them. But when you open your phone and the first thing you see on social media is always something negative, it’s hard not to think about it. I really like it when people can relate to me and I feel happy. Football is a world that sometimes doesn’t forgive. People obviously don’t know what players go through and the stress they put on themselves to get results, because we don’t want to have bad performances and we don’t want to lose matches. It’s just that sometimes there are ups and downs, so it hurts. After the relegation with Leeds, it was probably the first time, apart from the World Cup exit, that I cried.
I hate losing and I felt like I had failed people’s expectations of me. But when they started saying “fat bastard”, “pig”, “asshole” and things like that, it was a little difficult. We don’t realize the effect words have on people. I like being happy and making others happy, making people laugh. Who did I turn to for support? Luckily I had my personal chef, Patrick Contorno, who lived in England with me, and also my assistant Charles. If you’re feeling down in England, it can be tricky to deal with because there’s also very bad weather. It’s rainy and gloomy and this sets the mood for being in a sad mood already. I had these guys with me and they helped me a lot. If I had been there alone, I would definitely have fallen into a state of total depression. I’m my own biggest critic.”
