Erick Pulgar hits back at Chile idol over 'fragile mind' claim | OneFootball

Erick Pulgar has hit back at Chile idol Esteban Paredes after criticism of his decision to ask not to be called up by the national team.

"I found it a bit funny, mainly because Esteban never spoke to me. So he managed to assess my mental strength without even asking what happened," he told O Globo.

"I played decisive matches and a Copa Libertadores final. I respect very much what Esteban did as a footballer, but if he wanted to know what was happening with me, it would have been much easier to ask me than to do a psychological analysis on television."

"If that is the reason, I consider him very fragile mentally. If Pulgar does not want to go to the national team because he will be booed, I would never call him up again," said Paredes on the programme Tipsters.

Despite a strong spell at Flamengo, Pulgar has been missing from recent Chile squads. During the World Cup period, the team played friendlies and he turned down a call-up for those games. Coach Nicolás Córdova later made his refusal public, and federation president Pablo Milad said the decision involved discomfort with how the player and his family were treated.

Pulgar’s last cap came in October 2024 in South American qualifying, when he started defeats to Bolivia and Colombia, 2-1 and 4-0 respectively.

Source: Coluna Do Fla

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”