Andrea Conti says enough at 31: "I’m exhausted"

Andrea Conti officially hangs up his cleats at’the age of 31. Announcing this decision was the person concerned during a lengthy interview with the “Gazzetta dello Sport” where he traced the various stages of a career decidedly conditioned by injuries.

“I am exhausted, I have been fighting with physical problems, injuries and disappointments for years. I have been unemployed for a year and in the last three I have played just nine games. You have to be aware of your situation, I cannot take it anymore and this will be my final decision. I quit” debuted the’former Atalanta fullback.

“I lost hope. I knew that after the end of the contract with Sampdoria it wouldn&#8217t be easy and I have had proof of that in these months when no one called me anyway. So better to accept that it is over and move on. There isn&#8217t a day when I open my eyes and don&#8217t think about my knee. I talk about moments in life, not just while playing. For example, I can&#8217t get down on my knees, bend over” continued the former Milan player.

“I don&#8220t know what I will do now. I don&#8217t want to make rash decisions, I just feel like saying that I still see myself in soccer. I am a field man, maybe I would like to coach, but it is still early to say. I am still processing that I will never play again. In my path I have been unlucky, but I know that life does not end here. I will definitely do more. There is no need to hide, even if it is hard to accept. It&#8217s all mental work. For me, a dream ends, however, for me, lately, going to camp was no longer a joy. I was dragging, it wasn”t me anymore, added the Lecco native.

“Personally, I owe Gasperini so much and I can only speak well of him: he slaughters you in training, pushes you to give everything, but then on the field on Sunday you reap the benefits. With him you fly and always know what to do without him telling you anything else. He is not one who talks to the players a lot, but he always manages to strike the right chords when needed. I also got on well with Pioli, when he arrived at Milan I started playing all the time, then I got injured again and from there on I disappeared for him. It was as if he didn’t see me, he didn’t give me an explanation or anything. That was a decisive slap in the face for my career, because I felt good” concluded Andrea Conti.