Spurs' Paulinho 'considered quitting' after racist abuse

Tottenham midfielder Paulinho has revealed how his wife Barbara had to persuade him not to quit football after he was the victim of racist abuse while playing in eastern Europe.

Spurs' Paulinho 'considered quitting' after racist abuse

Tottenham midfielder Paulinho has revealed how his wife Barbara had to persuade him not to quit football after he was the victim of racist abuse while playing in eastern Europe.

The Brazilian, now 25, was a teenager when he first came to Europe with Lithuanian side Vilnius before moving on to LKS Lodz in Poland.

While he impressed on the pitch, the abuse from the stands almost proved too much for him to bear.

“I suffered from racial abuse,” he told several UK national newspapers.

“In two particular games when I went out to play the fans were making monkey noises and throwing coins at me and I just thought, ’I don’t need to tolerate this’, so I made the decision to move on.

“I don’t want to speak about the internal problems in Poland because this was still a team that helped me, but I went through a worse time there. There were problems at the club relating to certain individuals but never in an interview would I speak about this, I don’t want to speak ill.

“I lost hope, I lost confidence, I was basically stuck – and when you are in that position that’s when sadness comes.

“I did think about leaving football behind. I just thought I didn’t need to do something that put me in these situations, so I went three weeks without playing and the reasons I returned to the game were mainly family ones.

“I felt a responsibility to my mum and my dad and I spoke an awful lot with my wife. She mentioned that my mum and dad had always backed me up and they always did everything for me and that I should return to football to fight for what they had given me.

“And she had said, ’if you leave football, what are you going to do?’ and she was right. If I had left football I would not have had anything.”

Paulinho has made a positive impression in his first two games in English football following a summer move from Corinthians and opened his Tottenham goalscoring account in the Europa League play-off first leg win over Dinamo Tbilisi.

He is happy to have arrived in north London and said: “When the offer came I reviewed it with my agent, who knows England well and looks after other players over here.

“I came to the conclusion that Tottenham would be the right offer because of the environment and the league and the other players I would be playing alongside.”

more courts articles

Stephen Bear ordered to pay back profits from sharing private sex tape Stephen Bear ordered to pay back profits from sharing private sex tape
Gary Glitter victim seeking six-figure sum in damages, court told Gary Glitter victim seeking six-figure sum in damages, court told
Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother

More in this section

Xabi Alonso announces he will stay at Bayer Leverkusen Xabi Alonso announces he will stay at Bayer Leverkusen
Manchester United v Aston Villa - Premier League - Old Trafford Erik ten Hag expects Kobbie Mainoo to handle the hype after England debut
Sandro Tonali file photo Eddie Howe hoping FA does not ‘throw the book’ at suspended Sandro Tonali
Sport Push Notifications

By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser.

Sign Up
Sport
Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited