Castan accuses Spalletti of mocking him after cancer diagnosis: “He told me Frosinone was my level.” | OneFootball

Former Roma defender Leandro Castan spoke about a somewhat unfortunate outburst by the then Giallorossi coach Luciano Spalletti following a serious illness.

The former Brazilian defender, who played for Roma from 2012 to 2018, with loans to Sampdoria, Torino, and Cagliari, spoke to Corriere della Sera, retracing the terrible moments that saw him diagnosed with a brain tumor while he was at the height of his career with the Giallorossi:

The tragedy occurred in the 15th minute of the Empoli-Roma match on September 13, 2014.

“In those 15 minutes, my career ended,” Castan told Corriere della Sera. “A part of me died. During the warm-up, I felt discomfort in my flexor. At the end of the first half, Maicon warned Rudi Garcia: ‘Castan isn’t well.’ I was substituted. I left the pitch, forever. When I got home, I started to feel unwell. The next morning, things got worse; I was dizzy. I thought I was going to die.”

“I had no control over my body. It was terrible. I wanted to go back to being the same as before, I couldn’t accept that I couldn’t do it. It was killing me. Rudi Garcia always protected me, like a second father. I struggled more with Spalletti. I had just come back from surgery. Before the match against Hellas, he called me into the office and told me he wanted to see the old Castan again. ‘Okay, but I need to play,’ was my response. Against Verona, I returned to the starting lineup, but played one of my worst games.”

“In the following days, he called me back to the office, showing me a photo of Frosinone. ‘This is your level, you can’t play here. You won’t play with me anymore.’ My world collapsed. Now? I love being on the pitch, smelling the grass, connecting with the guys. My moment isn’t over yet. There’s another life in football for Leandro Castan. I tried to stay away from the ball, but I couldn’t.”