Naby Keita has had his say after Werder Bremen accused him of skipping their match against Bayer Leverkusen.
The midfielder, who joined on a free transfer from Liverpool last summer, has made just five appearances and collected 107 minutes in a disastrous campaign.
Before his side’s latest match, one that saw Leverkusen crowned Bundesliga champions in a 5-0 win, both director of football Clemens Fritz and head coach Ole Werner said Keita refused to travel after finding out he would be on the substitutes’ bench.
Responding to those claims, Keita told Sport1: “Since the start of my career, wherever I have been, I have never had any disciplinary problems and I always tried to be a role model. So I will not accept anyone tarnishing this image.
“To the fans: I want you to know that I fight in every practice so that I can make you happy every weekend. Training, and giving everything to the limits of my power.”
Fritz had earlier said: “After Naby found out yesterday that he wouldn’t be playing from the start, he decided not to get on the bus but to go home.
“We will talk to him and his advisor tomorrow about the consequences and how to proceed.”
Head coach Ole Werner added: “It annoys me and it will have consequences. I haven’t spoken to him yet, but that will follow in the next few days.”
Leave a Reply