Sandro Tonali responds to his haters: “Mr. 116 Million? It doesn’t bother me.”

Sandro Tonali tries to instill confidence on the eve of the Nations League match against Turkey. The Italian midfielder, speaking to Sportmediaset, emphasized above all the need to protect the many young players on the team: “We have a lot of young players on the team; we need to help them and take some of the pressure off them. We ‘old-timers’ need to take on more responsibility and shoulder more of the pressure so they can play freely. We played poorly against Belgium, but now we’ll work to make sure tomorrow’s match is different.”

Tonali then stressed the importance of regaining enthusiasm and a lighthearted attitude: “On the field, fun should never be missing; when it’s missing, everything else fades a bit. We need to get all that back, adding 1% every day. The players are strong, the team is healthy—we need to run and work hard. We have the time, we have the players—now we have to take the field giving 110 percent.”

The Tottenham midfielder also spoke about the spirit with which Italy must approach the match: “Now we have to help each other out; we have to be men first and players second, and try to win every game.”

Finally, a comment on the weight of expectations and the nickname “Mister 116 Million”: “It doesn’t bother me; I haven’t followed social media or the newspapers for years, and that gives me a lot of peace of mind. They can call us whatever they want; we just have to think about what’s best for Italy.”