In speaking with Ouest France, Véronique Rabiot, the mother and agent of France and Juventus midfielder Adrien, has defended her son after recent criticism of his performances in Italy. Véronique said her son’s negative image is “linked to the fact that we don’t talk to journalists enough, so they attack us.”
“I have thick skin. I have nothing to prove. We have nothing to prove. I don’t want to talk about myself, and neither does Adrien. He plays football, it’s his passion, but off the field, he would like to lead a discreet life. He doesn’t want to explain or justify himself.”
“Everyone makes mistakes throughout their lives. We don’t realize that footballers are teenagers when they start out and that they have to grow into men. They’re not robots. In Italy, the press says he’s been poor? He doesn’t worry about that, he plays every game. I would like the general public to know what the path is like for footballers to reach the top level. All we say is that they’re overpaid and so on… But people don’t know that it requires sacrifices from them and a mentality of steel.”
