“There is more and more distance between footballers and the fan of a lifetime”
“I signed with Barça for 500,000 euros because my economic situation allows me to enjoy what I want”
Héctor Bellerín returned to Barça this summer from Arsenal. The winger made a financial effort to return to the club that saw him born as a footballer. His competition has not gone beyond testimonial, since he has only been able to line up in three games so far this year, but his personality is leaving its mark on the Blaugrana dressing room. In an interview with the newspaper ‘ARA’, the Catalan shows his more social and demanding side. A rare bird in a world full of luxuries and in which most of his classmates lose track of reality.
Bellerín invited his colleagues to show more solidarity with a society in which there are still many people who live with many difficulties. “Footballers are the people who would have to pay the most taxes. I come from a family in which there were months when we had to do the impossible to be able to eat. I continue to live with people like that, with friends, family friends. Everyone wants to earn more money to be more comfortable, but with what I earn I think you have to think not only about your environment, but about society, where there are very precarious situations. Footballers are in a very privileged position. We have worked hard and we have made many sacrifices, but we have to be aware of what we have, where we come from, and we should be the first to want to help the stability of our society. But I understand that there are teammates who may think differently.”
The full-back acknowledges that in his early days he also lost sight of reality: “The first thing I did when I landed in a changing room with professionals was to buy a Gucci toiletry bag, as many of my colleagues had, but it’s been many years since I got rid of it. I understand that this happens because I have lived it, but I think that footballers are losing the relationship with the fan. There are many things that separate us from people, and this did not happen before. There are many players who come from humble families, who had nothing. Footballers are dehumanized, in a bubble.”
The footballer considers that this attitude has separated the footballers from the fans: “Football has to be authentic and for the fans, accessible to everyone. I am critical of the situation of modern football because there is more and more distance with the fan of a lifetime“
Bellerín defined himself as a citizen of the left: “Yes. I have nothing to hide. For me the most important thing is that there is a society that goes forward, that wants to share and that we help each other. It is also true that I feel a little apolitical because I have a hard time finding an affiliation that really covers everything I want to encompass as a person”. And he would like his way of seeing life to be shared by more colleagues: “I would like to see a little more activism from the playersbut I understand that it is also difficult.
The Brça full-back explained that “I like to read the press. I also listen to the radio every morning when I go to train. I talk a lot about politics with my father and I try to have important conversations with my friends, and not talk about the weather. I like meeting people at sunset, after work, and talk about what happens outside our soccer bubble. I want to know how people live their day to day.”
And he confirmed that he signed for Barça for a token of only 500,000 euros, practically the minimum wage imposed by the League: “Yes. Today what worries me is playing football at the highest level. I am lucky that I have been doing this for many years and I am in a financially comfortable situation that allows me to enjoy what I want. In the end, we don’t need as much as we think and I live a very normal life. My priorities are not based on an economic issue.”