FORMER Premier League star Gary Medel isn’t just your average footballer.
From hosting a pre-match orgy to being tasered by cops, the tough-tackling star has lived an eclectic lifestyle on and off the pitch.
He has even admitted that he would be a “drug dealer”, were it not for football.
Still plying his trade in Serie A for Bologna aged 35, Medel appears to have cooled off from his younger days… but only slightly.
On his previous antics, he told Calciomercato in 2015: “I’ve made many mistakes in my life. Really dumb stuff.
“I was crazy when I was a kid, loco, crazy, I climbed to the top of trees and houses. Once, I even flew out of my car’s windscreen at 140 kilometres (87 miles) an hour: I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt.
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“When I got to the hospital, I couldn’t feel one of my legs. If it hadn’t been for my family’s exemplary attitude I wouldn’t be here, I could have ended up a drug dealer.
“I’ve changed now: I’ve learned from my mistakes. I’ve shown hunger, desire, been smart.”
Medel’s story begins with his upbringing in the Conchali suburb of Chilean capital Santiago.
On his early days, the former Cardiff City man said: “I was always on the street, my father would have to drag me home by the ear.
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“I was happy playing because my friends were there, but there were also bad people, and drugs. One distraction would be tantamount to going down the wrong path. Had I not broken through as a footballer, I’d probably be a drug dealer now.”
After being red carded during an Under-20s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina in 2007, Medel went on to claim that he had been tasered by cops following a run-in in the car park.
His dance with near-death followed two years later, as he miraculously survived his terrifying car crash.
On the experience, he said: “I flew through the windscreen and woke up in hospital. When I came to, I touched my leg, but I couldn’t feel it. I was terrified. And then, like magic, my agent waltzes in and slaps my leg. I felt it! That was a sign right there. Stuff like that makes you strong.”
Medel’s antics began to make waves in his homeland after he became a regular for the Chile senior side.
He was later caught in a now-infamous incident – reportedly watching on in just his national team shorts as two women “got lovey dovey” in a pre-game orgy.
Medel signed for Premier League Cardiff from Sevilla in 2013, and despite his side’s relegation he impressed enough to earn a move to Inter Milan.
In 2015 he experienced the pinnacle of his career, roughing up Lionel Messi as Chile beat Argentina to lift the Copa America.
‘WHAT A GUY’
Even this season as a grizzled veteran, Medel appears to have been up to his old tricks.
When ultras turned up at Bologna’s training ground, Scotland international Lewis Ferguson revealed to Open Goal that Medel had to be restrained by his team-mates.
The former Aberdeen ace said: “Medel picked the biggest guy out them all and was honestly wanting to take him one v one. The boys were holding him back.
“It was brilliant, I’ve never experienced anything like that. We got back inside I was like, f***ing hell, and the boys said: ‘Welcome to Italy.’ Medel, what a guy.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
