After several years in retirement, Nicolas Anelka wanted to show the world what his career gave of himself. A career in which his very special personality was never synonymous with success. He realized this – according to the documentary that has just premiered on Netflix (Anelka, the misunderstood) – when he landed at Real Madrid. He came from Arsenal and, once he entered the white sports city, he already realized that this was not his place.
“I understood what it means to be a star when I came to Madrid and then I hated it. After the press conference, I got to the locker room. I got there first and sat down. Every player who came told me: “That's my place.” “Ah, excuse me, can I sit there?” “Yes, of course, there if” and another came and said: “That's my place.” Like this, like twenty times. I thought “What am I doing here?” This is going to be a harsh and hostile environment. ” That day was just the beginning of a nightmare ”.
The footage, beyond the relationship with the costumes, also narrates the adventures that the player had to do to avoid being spied on by the press. “I got to install a fence in my house. I couldn't do anything without appearing in the press the next day ”.
Pressure to score
When he arrived in Madrid, the Frenchman was blamed for the lack of a goal in his first games, something he had to live with during the first months, but fed up with his substitutions, he asked to speak with the club and, before the pumpkins of this, Anelka decided not to train. “I missed training and the president of Real Madrid – at that time Lorenzo Sanz – summoned me. We talked and he said: “You better go tomorrow.” I replied: “We'll see what happens tomorrow.” They blamed everything on me, even though I just wanted to be left alone to focus on football and show that I had talent and could play for Madrid ”.
Complicated return
After apologizing, Anelka went back to training and, in the documentary, she narrates that it was not easy at all: “It was hard to go back to training because the players were against me. Many of them came to get me in the field but I came from England I was used to the contact. There were some struggles and disputes on the pitch but afterwards, everything returned to normal. “
The Eighth and its departure
Finally, Anelka confessed that, over time, she has realized that she could do more at Real Madrid: “I helped Madrid win the eighth. I'm proud of it. But I did not contribute almost anything at Real Madrid. I would have liked to contribute more but I did not have the opportunity. I didn't do well either. Many things happened. I have many regrets. I wanted to play for Real Madrid, but I was too young to understand that that implied sacrifices ”, the former striker settled.