The checklist of footballers who’ve indulged themselves with a playboy life-style is infinite – however Antonio Cassano maybe tops the lot.
A self-destructive hothead with a penchant for meals and sleeping with ladies, in addition to an array of questionable quotes, Cassano lived the excessive life till the posh took an explosive toll.
His newest foray into the headlines got here after his admission over an obsession with Nutella.
Antonio Cassano loved a wild profession however struggled along with his obsession with meals and ladies
The now 38-year-old endured an sad two years at Actual Madrid, a spell dogged by his poor physique and health, and has partially blamed the membership for the downfall.
Cassano arrived on the Bernabeu aged 23 – a time when footballers are anticipated to develop and hone their abilities earlier than flourishing.
On this case, nevertheless, his early grownup years triggered the start of a spectacular spiral.
He arrived chubby, managed to shed the kilos, however then piled them again on once more. The trigger? Limitless tubs of hazelnut flavoured unfold.
The 38-year-old has opened up on how consuming Nutella noticed him pile on 14 kilos at Actual Madrid
‘Nutella was one of many sponsors of the membership and every month they gave us 5 kilos of product,’ Cassano stated.
‘When (Fabio) Capello arrived I scored two objectives in two video games and I felt just like the king of the world. After that he changed me in opposition to Lyon, I argued with him in Jerez and he took me out of the staff.
‘In seven months I gained 14 kilos. I ate Nutella immediately from the bottle and I did not care. I used to be ashamed.’
The title drop of Capello is not in the least stunning. In any case, Cassano had as soon as advised the previous England boss he was a ‘piece of s***’ and ‘extra pretend than Monopoly cash.’
This sort of outburst remained a relentless within the wild Italian’s life. He himself admitted to being ‘a problematic man’ – and his devilish want for intercourse and meals earmarked a really extraordinary profession.
Cassano as soon as labelled Fabio Capello as a ‘piece of s***’ and ‘extra pretend than Monopoly cash’
Cassano claims he had slept with between 600 and 700 ladies earlier than he turned 25 and insisted he usually loved a ‘nice match’ after intercourse.
His brash persona is a stark distinction to his humble upbringing. He was born into poverty in Bari and raised solely by his mom after his father deserted them.
It was on the streets of his testing neighbourhood that Cassano first developed his soccer expertise. A spot in Bari’s youth system quickly adopted.
After catching the attention there, Cassano obtained a promotion to the primary staff in 1999. His arrival into the highlight arrived quickly after in opposition to Inter Milan.
A 17-year-old Cassano confirmed the braveness and self-belief to take down a cross ahead brilliantly, earlier than ghosting past Christian Panucci and Laurent Blanc.
The feud between Cassano and Capello dogged the star for the remainder of his rollercoaster profession
Having disposed of two timeless defenders with a nonchalance most of his friends might solely have dreamed of, Cassano fooled the goalkeeper with a dummy and buried his strike contained in the close to publish.
Jaw-dropping, timeless and outrageous – simply because the enigma is remembered right now.
That objective helped haul Cassano out of the temptations that lurked across the darkish corners of his house metropolis.
‘If it wasn’t for that recreation in opposition to Inter I might have develop into a thief or worse; both approach, a delinquent,’ he admitted in his 2008 autobiography. ‘Lots of people that I do know have develop into concerned in that life.’
However the begin of his livid, and common, arguments with Capello would quickly comply with.
Cassano bizarrely aired grievances at Francesco Totti after the 2 males featured on a TV present
Cassano moved to Roma in 2001, aged 19, for a price of £26million. The worth tag earned him the accolade of being the world’s most costly teenager on the time.
Regardless of his sudden burst into fame, Cassano was unable to forestall his achievements on the sector being hounded, and even overshadowed, by his shenanigans away from it.
After being overlooked of a apply match, Cassano feuded with Capello. It was within the fallout from the bust-up that each males would repeatedly inform one another to ‘f*** off’.
The 2-time Serie A Younger Footballer of the Yr winner was additionally recognized to focus on match officers along with his fury.
A pink card brandished in direction of Cassano throughout the 2003 Coppa Italia last triggered the teen to direct a satan horns signal in direction of the referee.
Luigi Delneri then changed Capello and took a extra hardline stance over Cassano’s controversial antics. The brand new coach wasted no time in kicking him out of his squad.
Supervisor Capello and Cassano had been recognized to steadily argue and inform one another to ‘f*** off’
Fortunately for Cassano, a route again was prolonged to him with the hiring of Bruno Conti and he was named captain.
Even this accountability wasn’t sufficient to forestall Cassano from nosediving in direction of oblivion.
Sick-natured talks with Roma over a brand new deal led to a breakdown of their relationship and Francesco Totti additionally discovered himself on the mistaken finish of Cassano’s ire.
The team-mates had appeared on a TV present – and Cassano’s grievances arose on account of the price they obtained.
His membership determined to chop their losses and offload him – with a transfer to Actual Madrid arising in 2006 for a price of simply over £4m.
Cassano quickly joined Actual Madrid for simply over £4m in 2006 and continued his playboy life-style
Regardless of having moved to the esteemed LaLiga giants, Cassano’s private life continued to be dogged by the identical habits.
He detailed in his guide how his sordid lust for pastries and ladies was fulfilled due to a buddy who labored as a resort waiter.
‘His job was to carry me three or 4 pastries after I had intercourse,’ Cassano wrote.
‘He would carry the pastries up the steps, I might escort the lady to him and we’d make an change.
‘He would take the lady and I might take the pastries. Intercourse after which meals, an ideal evening.’
Madrid rapidly tried to crack down on Cassano’s overindulgences.
Some divisive off-field antics noticed Cassano (C) placed on weight and led to the moniker ‘El Gordito’
He was fined for each gram he was chubby – resulting in a brand new nickname, ‘El Gordito’. In English, the interpretation is ‘The Little Fatty’.
To make issues worse, his time on the membership took one other explosive lurch when Capello took up the reins.
The bitter reunion between the 2 figures, akin to a renewed showdown between two characters in a Marvel comedian guide, instantly gave option to the simmering tensions of the previous.
After a conflict at Tarragona, Cassano’s ‘Monopoly’ rant happened and Capello imposed a suspension.
The fractured and irreparable relationship between them noticed Cassano try and supply a transfer away.
Cassano joined Sampdoria however left three years on after angering president Riccardo Garrone
A spell at Sampdoria, which started with a mortgage stint, signalled the subsequent chapter in his rollercoaster profession.
Nearly three years handed with out an incident of be aware, though Cassano’s unruly method did result in an unsavoury ending.
Cassano refused to attend an awards presentation evening in a transfer which angered membership president Riccardo Garrone.
Garrone seemed to have the dangerous boy’s deal torn up for gross misconduct – though a tribunal as an alternative determined that Cassano’s wages needs to be lower in half.
The irate chief later advised Tuttosport that Cassano ‘might have been one of many biggest gamers on this planet’ if not for his unruly ‘mood’.
Regardless of the controversy that plagued his profession, Cassano scored 10 objectives in 39 caps for Italy
Cassano was shipped out to AC Milan in 2010. His time within the vogue capital of the world handed by with out a single hitch – till a near-death expertise, that’s.
On the way in which again from a victory over former membership Roma, Cassano started to really feel unwell on the staff bus from the airport.
He was quickly recognized with an ischemic stroke by medical doctors after being taken to hospital.
‘We argued for half an hour earlier than I agreed to go to the hospital,’ he later admitted. ‘And that’s once I began to have hassle talking and considered seeing my son once more.’
Surgical procedure was carried out to fix his coronary heart subject and a return to the pitch adopted six months later in April 2012.
Cassano (R) additionally performed for Inter Milan, Parma, Sampdoria and Hellas Verona earlier than retiring
The intense well being scare did little to forestall Cassano from slipping again into his rebellious nature, nevertheless.
Additional strikes to Inter Milan, Parma, Sampdoria and Hellas Verona rounded off his eccentric profession.
His time on the San Siro was marked by an alleged bust-up with coach Andrea Stramaccioni. The 2 males had been stated to have pushed and shoved one another within the dressing room after a coaching session.
Cassano introduced his retirement in September 2017, regardless of having modified his thoughts on 5 events.
A last chapter promised a lot with Serie C outfit Virtus Entella, however the journey was promptly lower quick after only a week.
Now married for over a decade and with two kids, Cassona (R) enjoys a really completely different life
Cassano and his spouse Carolina Marcialis (pictured collectively in 2018) had been married in 2010
His boots stay saved away to at the present time.
Now married to water polo participant Carolina Marcialis, and with the glad couple having celebrated their ten-year anniversary final yr, Cassano leads a unique life.
They’ve two sons, Christopher and Lionel – named after Barcelona celebrity Messi.
There could have been little romanticism throughout Cassano’s polarising profession however there might be no denying the sheer measurement of the ‘what if?’ query he leaves behind.
Supplied his cabinets are crammed to the brim with Nutella, he could not thoughts.
