Dani Osvaldo reveals he chose beer, BBQ and rock music over football and money as ex-Southampton man enjoys retirement
Saints splashed almost £13million on the striker in 2013 and then got £40,000 back after fining him for attacking a team-mate
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DANI OSVALDO quit football after the former Southampton striker realised he preferred booze and BBQs to the beautiful game.
The Rolling Stones-loving rocker was a nightmare £12.8million signing for Saints, scoring three goals in two years before being fined £40,000 for assaulting Jose Fonte.
After underwhelming spells at Fiorentina, Espanyol, Juventus, Inter Milan, Porto and Boca Juniors, Osvaldo quit in 2016, having made 14 appearances for Italy.
And he revealed it was his love of charred meats and cold beers that convinced him to hang up his boots and focus on good living rather than goal scoring.
Osvaldo said: “I decided to quit at Boca, there was too much gossip.
"I couldn’t go out, I was afraid of people. I couldn’t do it anymore.
“I had offers from China and clubs in the Champions League, but I was detached. I was beginning to hate what I had always loved.
“Football deserves respect, and I prefer asado [Argentinian barbecue] and beer to money.”
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Even after walking out on his 12th club last year, Osvaldo still had offers to play on in one of Europe’s top divisions under a masterful coach.
Current ArgenTina manager Jorge Sampaoli wanted to help resurrect Osvaldo’s career at Sevilla but it clashed with a music festival in Argentina so he canned the comeback.
The tattooed Southampton flop star said: “Do you want a laugh?
“In December 2016 [Jorge] Sampaoli contacted me, he was at Sevilla at the time.
“He said to me: ‘Dani, I’m not asking anything of you, you can do what you want on the pitch and off, but I need a striker’.
“I told him ‘but boss, there’s the Cosquin Rock festival!’
“He said ‘I forgot! Go, of course, you can’t miss it’.”