Still misunderstood
It would be nice for people to take the time to understand me, says Zaha
WILFRIED ZAHA admits there are times when football might have broken him. He’s one of England’s most instantly recognisable footballers: an £80 million-rated (RM416m) winger trapped in a constant cycle of transfer speculation.
Beneath that, though, there’s a tinge of despair in his voice when, after almost 10 years in the Premier League, he’s still not sure if people actually know who the real Wilfried Zaha is at all.
“I can’t go around hoping everyone likes me,” he says. “But at the same time, it’d be nice for people to take the time to understand me.”
It’s hard to pinpoint an exact moment where Zaha became such a lightning rod for criticism. After the saga of failed summer moves to Arsenal and Everton, he’s not interested in talking about transfers and has no desire to fuel fires or burn bridges.
The disappointment and bitter end to his time at Manchester United still lingers in the background. In truth, though, it feels as though the carping had attached itself to him long before, often in the form of something more sinister.
“You deal with a lot of things in football that you shouldn’t have to,” he told The Independent.
“You come from nothing, you work all the way to the top and you’re thinking I’ve finally reached this amazing platform that I’ve dreamt about my whole life. Then you find out it’s still filled with abuse, for all sorts (of things you don’t expect).
In the past, people have been quick to redress Zaha’s concerns or dismiss them altogether, perhaps because of the warped idea that footballers’ emotions are fair
game due to their wealth.
And, at first, when the sense of mistreatment began to stew, he felt he had little choice but to accept it. In a world that often seems to “thrive off negativity”, the abuse was just something that walked hand-in-hand with success.
Over time, though, it steadily ate away him, stealing the enjoyment of simply playing at all.
“I wish I was more outspoken when I was younger because I let a lot of things slide when I should’ve spoken up for myself,” he says.
“When I started my career, I could never understand why I used to get so much abuse.
“I think people can’t separate the player and the person, or maybe they don’t take the time to.
Some have that mentality that you’re someone that they’re supposed to hate because you’re playing against them.
“Now I just tell myself just to focus on what I can control and not get annoyed and frustrated about things outside of that.
“That’s why I’m back to enjoying my football again. I can’t control what you’ll do, what someone else will do, I’ve just got to focus on me.” – The Independent