Former Barcelona forward Kevin-Prince Boateng has revealed he no longer enjoys playing football and believes the ‘curse’ of money has had a detrimental impact on the sport.
The 32-year-old also criticised young players, insisting many of them care more about PlayStation and Instagram than their performances on the pitch.
The Ghanaian signed for Barca in January until the end of the season, with the Catalan club holding an option to make the deal permanent in the summer.
But the La Liga champions – for whom Boateng played just four times – decided not to exercise that option and he joined Fiorentina instead, scoring one goal in 13 appearances in 2019-20.
‘Football is a business and players are numbers. If you don’t give up, you will be replaced. It’s simple. There is no loyalty and it’s sad,’ Boateng told Spanish outlet AS.
‘It would be interesting to see a survey to find out which players still like to train and who enjoys playing. It’s a job for professionals. The pressure is enormous and it causes depression. There are times that I have fun playing and other times when I do not.
‘Young players don’t work their talent and I know what it means to throw it away and even several times. Some drive their Mercedes when they’re aged 19 and they already appear so talented that they do nothing to improve.’
‘Without extra training, nothing. They think about playing Playstation and they use Instagram. The last ones to arrive at training and then the first ones to leave. I think football has changed, just like society.’
Boateng revealed in September that he once purchased three cars in one day during his spell at Tottenham.
He confessed to having regrets over the careless manner in which he spent money in England and admitted he ‘didn’t treat football as a job’.
However, the Berlin-born forward insists he a reformed character who regularly reminds young Fiorentina players that ‘you cannot buy happiness.’
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