Former Real Madrid forward admits constant pressure aggravated his injuries – ‘It was a complicated time’ | OneFootball

Perica Ognjenovic arrived at Real Madrid as one of the best upcoming players in the world in 1999, just a year after he played the FIFA World Cup representing Yugoslavia (now Serbia).

He was at Red Star Belgrade before his move to Real Madrid and his quality secured him interest from several top clubs in Europe – with Real Madrid being the eventual winners of the negotiation war.

In the end, however, his time at the club was far from rosy as he was forced to leave the club just two years later after a difficult spell in the Spanish capital.

Ognjenovic opens up

The Serbian former player recently opened up on his time at Real Madrid and how it did not quite go to plan.

“I came from four or five years without injuries. Everything got bad as soon as he arrived at Real Madrid.

“It made me sad, but it’s the life of a soccer player. Nothing can be done,” he said about how injuries halted his progress.

When asked if the pressure of playing for Real Madrid got to him and aggravated his pre-existing ailments, the player said,

“I don’t know. Who knows. I haven’t noticed much in all this.

“What is certain is that I’d been dealing with some minor back problems since my time at Red Star Belgrade, where I also think I didn’t receive proper treatment.“

Elaborating on how the situation got worse with every passing year, further crippling his hopes of making it big at the club, the player said,

“Every year it got worse. Yes, I think that with Madrid’s frantic pace, everything could be accelerated. There was a time when my body said enough.”

Finally, he admitted that he did not hold anything against the club for his career going downhill there, and how he only kept the good memories.

“It was a complicated time. I never had problems with Madrid. Not even with people, the fans. Yes, there were, they were resolved.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo