Nicolas Anelka: Life at Real Madrid was a nightmare
Former Real Madrid striker Nicolas Anelka has sensationally lifted the lid on his brief spell in the Spanish capital. Anelka completed a shock switch to Los Blancos ahead of the 1999/2000 season, after netting 17 league goals in the previous campaign, as Arsenal won a Premier League and FA Cup double. His form for the […] The post Nicolas Anelka: Life at Real Madrid was a nightmare appeared first on Football España.
Former Real Madrid striker Nicolas Anelka has sensationally lifted the lid on his brief spell in the Spanish capital.
Anelka completed a shock switch to Los Blancos ahead of the 1999/2000 season, after netting 17 league goals in the previous campaign, as Arsenal won a Premier League and FA Cup double.
His form for the Gunners alerted Real Madrid on his rise as one of the best young strikers in Europe.
However, despite high hopes of replicating that in Madrid, the former France international struggled to show his best version.
Anelka has frequently criticised media intrusion into his life in Spain – as he failed to score a goal in his first five months at the club – before leaving after just one season.
He returned to Paris Saint-Germain ahead of 2000/01 – the club he left Arsenal for in 1997 – and he opened up on his issues in Madrid as part of a new Netflix documentary Anelka: Misunderstood.
Wenger, Henry, Drogba, Petit, Pogba and – *of course* – Nicolas Anelka, talking about Nicolas Anelka? Oui. Très bon. Anelka: Misunderstood arrives on Netflix on 5 August. pic.twitter.com/dg1xXIbBbT
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) July 22, 2020
“I understood what it meant to be a star when I arrived at Real Madrid, and I hated it,” he said.
“After being greeted at the airport by fans and journalists, I thought: ‘What am I doing here?’ This is too hard. It was the beginning of a nightmare.
“I felt a lot of pressure from the start. Every day in the Spanish press there was an article or a photo about me.
“I would have liked to score more, but I didn’t have the chance, and I didn’t measure up. Too many things happened. In part, I do regret it. Players always want to play for Real Madrid.
“There were too many sacrifices to make and I was too young to understand.”
Anelka left Madrid with seven goals scored in all competitions in 1999/00, but he did secure a UEFA Champions League winners medal, as he started in Real Madrid’s 3-0 final win over Valencia.
The post Nicolas Anelka: Life at Real Madrid was a nightmare appeared first on Football España.
What's Your Reaction?
