Football NewsMarco Van Basten revealed how the career ending injury affected him
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Speaking in favour of promoting his upcoming autobiography, the former striker looked back on his career and spoke frankly about how it ended.

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Van Basten suffered a lot during his career

Marco van Basten is one of the greatest players of all time and has won the Ballon d’Or three times. But these are not all good times in his career which ended by injury. The Dutchman revealed how he was affected by the injury ending his career, both physically and mentally. Speaking in favour of promoting his upcoming autobiography, the former striker looked back on his career and spoke frankly about how it ended. “I suffered a lot, had a lot of pain, the doctors did not help me with treatments. And my ankle kept getting worse,” Van Basten said. “I spent a lot of time sitting on the couch, not even knowing how to walk, not wanting people to see me like that. I’ve been depressed. It was a terrible period.”

In his book, Van Basten does not sugarcoat anything. He describes how, after an injury in 1992, he would have had to crawl on all fours to the bathroom, such as his right ankle’s condition that even with painkillers, it could not carry any weight. Van Basten also revealed that he had a chance to join Barcelona in 1988. But he rejected his compatriot Johan Cruyff. “I told Cruyff no, it was only a season since I arrived in Milan from Ajax. And due to an ankle injury, I played little,” noted Van Basten. “Moreover, at that time, the best football was played in Italy. I wanted to show at AC Milan what a good player I was. And for the next two years, we won the European Cup.”

After training with the Dutch national team, Ajax, Heerenveen and AZ Alkmaar, he has given due to the emotional stress it causes. “I will never be a manager again,” he stated.