Czech midfielder Jankto: I feel very calm after announcing that I came out as gay, and I am living with a boy.

The 29-year-old Czech midfielder Jankto, who previously announced that he came out as gay, announced his retirement in August this year. In a recent interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, he talked about the reasons for his retirement, his current situation and the impact of coming out as gay.

Talking about injuries that led to retirement at the age of 29

"My ankle ruined my career. I couldn't run normally and even had problems walking. I couldn't undergo surgery. Before every game, I could only wrap my ankle with a bandage to try to lose weight. Mild pain, but little effect. Continuing to play has become a torture for me and has lost its meaning. I still have a terrible image in my mind of my ankle being completely twisted 180 degrees during a training session at Sampdoria. To this day, I still sometimes walk with a limp. At Cagliari, my contract was about to expire and I decided to retire. In addition, I hope to spend more time with my son David in Prague, after ten years of wandering in Italy and Spain. "

Talk about the current situation

"I am realizing my dream: teaching children to play football, including my son in the U7 echelon of Dukula. This team has a long history in the Czech Republic. For him, football is more like a hobby. Have fun on the court, that's the most important thing. In addition, I work as a coach at another football academy in Prague, coaching the U7, U8 and U9 teams. "

Talking about career

"The real money I make is through e-sports. I once owned a company called Sampi, which I sold for more than one million euros last year. Each player of the company is worth about 250,000 euros, and I have about ten players. Due to the need to balance the livelihood of a player and a real estate entrepreneur, I can no longer devote enough time to running the company. I started in this field when I was 18 and still manage some apartments in Prague. When there are issues like water leaks or various maintenance issues, I personally step in to deal with them. Just like in Italy, the salary of youth team coaches here is not high, with a monthly salary of between 200 and 400 euros. So to make ends meet, they inevitably need to take another job. "

Talk about Czech football

"I still remember being with my father when I was a kid Watching the game on TV, I remember the great victory over the Netherlands 3-2 in the group stage of the European Cup in 2004, and I also remember the pain of losing to Greece in overtime in the semi-finals. That was our best generation of players, with Nedvěd and Rosicky. Today, the level of the Czech national team is no longer what it used to be. But who knows, maybe one of the kids I’m training will grow up to be a future champion. There are very few talented players in the Czech Republic now, only Schick and Hlozek. Other players are also good, but Nedvěd The era has long passed. "

Talking about being treated like a slave at Udinese

"I talked to Antonin Ballack about this a few days ago. It was the 2017-18 season. After Odo took over as coach of Delneri, we won five consecutive victories, including an away victory against Inter Milan. Everything seemed to be going well, but things took a turn for the worse from the beginning of February, we lost eleven games in a row and the club decided to punish us with a week of closed training. We are all far away from home The tension grew, the arguments continued, and I had to take sleeping pills before bed and stay in the hotel all day. "

Talking about coming out in 2023

"At first, I didn't want to release that video. I wanted to keep everything in my heart and felt there was no need to make it public. But while in Prague, some rumors began to circulate that I was dating men, and I might have been seen on the street several times. These rumors made me very uncomfortable, and there was a lot of discussion about them online. i really Unhappily, I thought: Why in this day and age do I have to announce to the world that I am gay? It's my private thing, it's my personal thing, I was born that way, and then someone suggested that I make that video. I wanted to put all rumors about me to rest and now I feel happy, at peace and without fear. ”

[Related News] 🤯The 27-year-old Czech international Janktor officially announced that he is gay: I am gay and I don’t want to hide it anymore

Have you ever been abused because of this?

"I have received very vicious homophobic comments on social media, which I have been deleting every day for several months. About 30% of people have made such comments, while the other 70% support me. I will thank them out of politeness, but it doesn't really mean much. I am gay, others may be straight, what is the problem? Now in Prague, I am in a bar or restaurant When he was recognized in the hall, no one commented on it."

On having a son, David, with the female model Marchetta before coming out

"I always knew that I was gay, but when I was in a relationship with her, I tried to stop being gay. I told myself: 'I can't be with a boy.' But the relationship didn't go well, and we didn't have a good rapport in intimacy. . I was very unhappy, and when I reached the limit of my tolerance, I decided to stop hiding it and confessed my sexual orientation to her. We are both smart people, we don't talk too much, we do have our fair share of problems, I won't deny that, but we try our best not to let our child lack anything, we take turns taking care of him every two weeks, and now I'm living with a boy. "

How did parents react to coming out?

"At first they were surprised, but then they understood. Marchetta and I have been together for five years, and they didn't know anything about it before I came out. "

Talking about moving to Cagliari after coming out

"I remember the first week was very difficult, Ranieri said to me: 'I just want you to come to Cagliari to play, in Italy you have to stay strong, and you are indeed strong. ’ He convinced me. When I arrived at the airport, I was greeted by 200 to 300 people, which was a really strange scene. There are certain countries in the world where I have to be very careful if I go there. I'm not the kind of activist who goes to pride parades, I can only advise everyone to stand up to gay issues, stay calm, and communicate openly with family and friends. "