Kevin Prince Boateng says white players never helped him in the fight against racism and taunts Inter: ‘People have talked too much about about the other club of Milan.’
The former Milan and Barcelona player, now at Monza in Serie B, has given an interview to Il Corriere della Sera.
Kevin Prince Boateng says white players never helped him in the fight against racism and taunts Inter: ‘People have talked too much about about the other club of Milan.’
The former Milan and Barcelona player, now at Monza in Serie B, has given an interview to Il Corriere della Sera.
“I could never say no to [Adriano] Galliani and [Silvio] Berlusconi. They helped me to become a man, I couldn’t turn down their offer. Berlusconi called me and said: ‘My son, come back home,’ there weren’t many more things to say," he said.
“My career has been full of shocking decisions. One year and a half ago I was playing for Barcelona, now I am in Serie B. I could have moved to the USA, but I preferred to be happy. There is more pressure here than in many other Serie A clubs.”
Mario Balotelli has now joined him at Monza.
“He is like a brother for me. He needed great motivations, we are waiting for him to show what kind of player he is.”
Boateng has fought against racism during his entire career. Eight years ago, he left the pitch during a friendly game between Milan and Pro Patria because he was racially abused by fans in the stands.
“Those facts caused me a painful wound. I had made so many sacrifices to play in one of the strongest team in the world. I thought I had put behind me the dark days I lived when I was a child. I could no longer accept such behaviour," he said.
“Perhaps, the situation has also worsened now. Let’s have a look at what is happening around the world, the killing of George Floyd for example. They kill people in front of cameras, even for trivial reasons. The Black Lives Matter movement was born, but too little has been made to tackle this phenomenon.
“White players have never helped me in this fight against racism. Some of them remain quite because of fear, others because they believe it is more advantageous not to expose themselves. White people command, if they raised their voice, we would be heard more,” Boateng said.
The 33-year-old did also praise Serie A table leaders Milan and his ex teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“I am happy for them, enthusiasm among the fans has returned. There was too much talk about the other team of Milan.
“I am not surprised by Ibra, he taught me the desire to win, also in training. He is never satisfied, when he missed one pass in training he shouted ‘Zlataaaan’, imagine what he used to do with other players."