aUrélian Choameni was not at the Allianz Arena for Real Madrid’s defeat against Bayern Munich. He had been suspended for a yellow card. He, like everyone else, watched from the sidelines. However, this season he became one of the pillars of the white team. There’s no room for debate. It has nothing to do with the footballer who not so long ago played with suspicion and listened to the whistle at the Bernabéu.
The midfielder reflected in an interview on the Pivot Podcast. I put into words the moment the spotlight hit me. “I was made a scapegoat. For the first 10-20 minutes, every time I touched the ball, the stadium was booing. That situation either destroys you or you think, ‘That’s it’. Let’s see what I can control. The only thing I can control is my performance. The level of pressure at Real Madrid is something different. People will talk about everything you do, good or bad.”
Vinicius Jr. is training Nutmeg Torrent, but he always remains friendly.
Choameni quickly understood the ground he was treading on. He adjusted his head in front of his feet. “Everyone was talking about me and how I played. A year or two ago I was a bad player and I was booed in the stadium, so I feel like I’ve been through a lot and that definitely helped me mentally. Now I just don’t care because I know that no matter what I do people will say. Playing for Real Madrid is the biggest stage in the sport. The pressure is a privilege.”
The Frenchman also stopped to talk about what happened with Vinicius and Prestiani in the Champions League. He didn’t shy away from the topic. He was direct.
The limits of racist insults “They called him a monkey. I think the next step is to stop playing. We’re not going to let that happen again.” The phrase hangs in the air, without nuance. It’s like a clear warning with the stadium noise still in the background.
