Neven Subotic is very critical of the football business and his former lifestyle as a professional. In an interview, the former BVB star tells how ashamed he is of his former lifestyle. He advocates that footballers attach less importance to status symbols in the future.
Long-time Bundesliga defender Neven Subotic has criticized his former lifestyle as a professional footballer. “Looking back, I’m ashamed that I lived so pointlessly at the time,” said the 33-year-old in an interview with the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. The two-time German champion and cup winner with Borussia Dortmund enjoyed his career a lot, but he didn’t make any lasting friendships, didn’t develop as a person or did anything he was proud of.
At the end of his active career as a professional, the Serb wants to devote even more time to his own foundation. This helps people in Africa to get access to clean drinking water. He had launched this almost ten years ago – which was not always positively received. “Sometimes it was said: You have a foundation, and that’s not good – of course that wasn’t said so obviously, but expressed more diplomatically,” said Subotic. This is disappointing as he feels his involvement hasn’t impacted his performance on the field.
The ex-professional hopes that in the future more footballers will follow his example, attach less importance to status symbols and instead take on more social responsibility. However, the commitment should not be limited to PR campaigns, Subotic told the “NOZ”: “Anyone who does something like this for the wrong reasons should please let it be. You have to be convinced of your cause.”
Subotic played 232 games in the Bundesliga for BVB, FSV Mainz 05, 1. FC Köln and Union Berlin. The 36-time Serbian international has been without a club since his departure from the Austrian first division club SCR Altach last summer, and according to the player himself, an official end to his career is imminent.
