Dani Osvaldo reveals he left football because “I prefer beer and barbecue to money”.
The former Juventus, Roma and Southampton striker retired from football to pursue a career in rock & roll, and he insists he has no regrets.
“I decided to quit at Boca, there was too much gossip,” Osvaldo recalled, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I couldn’t go out, I was afraid of people. I couldn’t do it anymore. I had offers from China and clubs in the Champions League, but I was detached.
Dani Osvaldo reveals he left football because “I prefer beer and barbecue to money”.
The former Juventus, Roma and Southampton striker retired from football to pursue a career in rock & roll, and he insists he has no regrets.
“I decided to quit at Boca, there was too much gossip,” Osvaldo recalled, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I couldn’t go out, I was afraid of people. I couldn’t do it anymore. I had offers from China and clubs in the Champions League, but I was detached.
“I was beginning to hate what I had always loved. Football deserves respect, and I prefer asado [Argentinian barbecue] and beer to money.
“Do you want a laugh? In December 2016 [Jorge] Sampaoli contacted me, he was at Sevilla at the time.
“He said to me: ‘Dani, I’m not asking anything of you, you can do what you want on the pitch and off, but I need a striker’.
“I told him ‘but boss, there’s the Cosquín Rock festival!’. He said ‘I forgot! Go, of course, you can’t miss it’. Two crazy people!
“Do I miss Italy? I’ll be back after the winter, I don’t remember the Bergamo snow fondly.
“And football? I’ve played in important shirts and with great champions. At the time you don’t realise it, you take it for granted.
“Today I understand that fortune, but I don’t miss it. Believe me.”
Osvaldo famously left Inter after a clash with Roberto Mancini, and that is something he regrets.
“I threw a punch at him after that famous Juve-Inter game – ‘Do you want a fight?’. He said: ‘Don’t tell me that in front of everyone’.
“If he hadn’t expelled me he’d have lost authority. Then I went to his office crying, I was ashamed. He’s a great Coach with a good character.”