B’Jesus Said Alex

Alexis Sanchez posted the following on his Instagram account:

“You get tired of being criticised with or without reason, you get tired of those who want you to lose, you get tired of saying to yourself ‘once more I’ll get up’ after crying after a defeat, and you get tired of telling the world and people who are with you, that everything is going well.

“And the worst, is that no one ever realises how that makes you feel … I have the 7 of Chile on my back and it is a huge responsibility, that’s why it makes me sad that journalists and bad people criticise without knowing.”

It’s a stark contrast between this and Mesut Özil’s committee polished Facebook attack on critics but both statements say essentially the same thing: they are tired of being criticized.

Qq

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/BYrnNEtl93x/

8 comments

  1. I’m not a big fan of international football. But that said it’s kind of absurd to criticize players who are representing your country… for basically free.

    This from Sanchez is directed at his fellow Chileans and OK in my books.

    Ozil’s complaint was self-serving and stems from the fact that the criticism of him is tainting public opinion to the point where it’s dramatically affecting his financial future.

    1. International footballers don’t really play for free. At the least they get exposure, which leads to sponsorship and the right to demand increased wages.
      They also get appearance money in tournaments.

    2. This. Spot on about Ozil.

      I actually think we’ll see a great (half or full) season from Ozil. He’ll do well until January, and evaluate his options. If nothing good comes his way, he’ll keep playing well until the end of the season. He’ll sign with us if there are no better offers – and I’m not convinced there will be. I think the club will be so desperate for him to sign on with Alexis leaving that we’ll offer him the moon, and he’ll take it.

  2. it’s like i’ve always said, the responses to stressors in football are non-specific. we’ve seen luis suarez bite people, messi quit international football, ozil write on facebook, and now alexis is crying. these guys are winners who play with their hearts on their sleeves and are giving it their all. alexis just lead chile to two consecutive copa america titles and he’s still being dogged in the media by “journalists and bad people”.

    these guys are more than just millionaire soccer players. they’re human beings. their reactions are called human factors. people need to respect that these larger than life figures are human beings, not robots.

  3. Still not sure if I agree with the recent Ozil criticism.

    While he hasn’t signed a new contract, out of Alexis, Ox and himself he’s made the least waves about leaving and yet seems to get the most criticism over the contracts. Alexis is a winning machine who’s right to want to leave, Ox has stagnated and it’s Arsene’s fault, Ozil stays quite and is basically accused of having nowhere better to go and settling for the easy life at Arsenal. Even regarding his recent statement people seem pretty sure in stating for a fact that he only released the statement to preserve his own ‘brand’. I don’t know how people can be so sure.

    1. Ozil is a sensitive, thinking man’s footballer playing in a country that loves full blooded, rugged footballers. To me that’s what it comes down to with everything that swirls around him.

      By the way, I enjoyed Wenger’s comeback to the former Arsenal players’ criticisms: “You weren’t perfect either.” He has a way of speaking truths sometimes that gets to the heart of a matter and this is one example of that. It’s the perfect comeback because he is uniquely suited to have that insight on them. Having said that, I also feel that likening Arsenal’s recent form to an “imperfect” performance is a bit like saying Houston got a little bit wet recently or that Donald Trump’s presidency carries hints of anti-immigration. Still, it’s a brilliant retort by a brilliant man and every bit as fair as the criticism that came his way.

  4. Relentless personal criticism from your own fans who abuse the player is bound have a reaction. A person can take only so much vitriol. Amazingly, now his being attacked for fighting back. Does it matter if his statement was made by his PR company? Now Alexis is genuinely hurt but Ozil is a hypocrite? Football players are constantly reminded that they should accept criticism as they are professionals and fans are paying money to watch them play. They are told to develop thick skin (just like black players were in 80s against incessant racist abuse).

    Well, all I can say is that pundits and ex-players don’t have a god given right to keep attacking a player just because they are sitting in a TV studio. I clearly remember how Tim reacted last season when some comments here got personal. We had Jonathan write a full article, lots of comments flew in various articles about how people should behave on the site. So everyone has a limit to the personal attacks they face. Just that everybody reacts differently to them like Ozil and Alexis.

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