Fiorentina legend Gabriel Batistuta admits “I have difficulty walking because I gave more than I had to give” in football.
Batistuta scored 242 goals for Fiorentina, Roma and Inter between 1991 and 2003, but the former Argentina striker revealed his prolific ways had taken its toll.
“Is it true that I once said I never liked football? I did say it, but I was trying to protect myself against the Press and the public,” he told FIFA 1904.
Fiorentina legend Gabriel Batistuta admits “I have difficulty walking because I gave more than I had to give” in football.
Batistuta scored 242 goals for Fiorentina, Roma and Inter between 1991 and 2003, but the former Argentina striker revealed his prolific ways had taken its toll.
“Is it true that I once said I never liked football? I did say it, but I was trying to protect myself against the Press and the public,” he told FIFA 1904.
“I said it, so they’d stop asking me things. I was finding the training all too much. You have to remember I was playing in Italy in the good times.
“There was a lot of pressure and everyone talked about football all the time, which I found pretty boring.
“It goes without saying that I love the game, the tactics, the training and everything that happens on the pitch.
“I wasn’t that excited about football when I was young, but it did become my passion. I ended up living and breathing football.
“Now, I have difficulty walking because of it, because I gave more than I had to give.
“The truth is somewhere in between. I love the game and everything that goes with actually playing.
“What I don’t like so much are the interviews, the controversy and all the external stuff.”