Former France striker Nicolas Anelka, who was famously sent home from the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, has revealed why he "hated" life at Spanish giants Real Madrid.
The controversial forward will be remembered as somewhat of a journeyman towards the end of his professional career, but there was a time when he was widely regarded as one of the best young strikers in world football.
His promise earned him a big-money move to Los Blancos from Arsenal in 1999, though things did not quite work out for the Frenchman, who lasted just a single year in the Spanish capital.
In a newly-released documentary about his life, Anelka candidly discussed what it was like at Real, admitting that he could not stand all that came with being a superstar.
"I understood what it meant to be a star when I joined Real Madrid, and I hated it," he said in his new Netflix documentary called 'Anelka: Misunderstood'.
"After a press conference, I went to the changing room. I got there first, sat down, but players kept coming up to me and saying: 'That's my spot'. I would say: 'Oh, sorry. Can I sit here?' and then another player would come up and say: 'That's my spot'.
"It happened maybe 20 times. I just thought: 'What am I doing here? This is going to be hostile'. What I experienced that day was just the beginning of the nightmare.
"There were sacrifices to be made and I was too young to understand. There was so much pressure. I was in the press every day. On the pitch, things weren't great. I couldn't have a private life. I couldn't do anything.
"You're 20, you can't walk down the street. Everything you do gets talked about, everything you buy is in the newspapers the next day."
Anelka scored just seven goals in 33 games at Real, before returning to Paris Saint-Germain, the club that handed him his professional debut.
