He had a great performance against Benfica in pre-season but is without a club: “They keep giving me false hope” – Internacional

Andros Townsend was on the verge of signing for Burnley, but then everything changed

A month and a half after seeing the dream of moving to Burnley It did not come to fruition due to a last minute change of heartAndros Townsend remains a free agent on the market and has no hope that, at the age of 32, he will be able to find a new club. After Burnley – the club where he gained experience and where Impressed against Benfica Two more chances arose, but in the end the odds were no better and the situation left the winger on the verge of despair. As was the case when he learned last August of Burnley’s withdrawal, in a conversation with coach Vincent Kompany, which he admitted was painful.

“That was probably one of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had in my career. If I had been feeling bad and knew I wasn’t going to get the contract, I wouldn’t have prepared like I did. I looked up houses and schools and even talked about my jersey number… and then they told me the contract wasn’t “It was on the table… which shook my world. I made my arguments, I said it gave something different, that I didn’t mind being a rotational player, and that I would create a good environment even when I wasn’t playing,” he revealed in a chat on Monday Night Club. on BBC Radio 5. Now, he admits it, and understands why. For the club’s decision, but he is still shaken.

With Burnley’s door closed, Townsend tried other markets, but the bad news kept coming. “On the last day of the market, I was in Turkey from morning to night. One agent told me: ‘It’s 100% guaranteed.’ I waited all day and it didn’t happen. It’s been a month, and people keep giving me false information.” “Hope. A random agent told me that a third-tier Saudi club and its president were desperate to sign me. After some thought, I was only interested in playing football again. I called him the next morning, the day the market closed. From there, to arrange meeting. Then the president said he didn’t want to appoint anyone…

“The situation is due to the fact that I haven’t played any official matches for a year and a half. So, given my age and lack of minutes, English clubs don’t want to take any risks. I looked abroad, I thought clubs would be interested in signing a player with my experience, but it’s a story of few The minutes are back. Ligament injuries are very complex and when players are in the final stages of their career, sometimes they don’t fully recover. Coaches don’t do that. “I don’t want to try players in the middle of the season, because that sends a message that they don’t trust the players. Those there. I’m waiting for the phone to ring…”

By Fabio Lima