Many footballers lead excessively extravagant lifestyles, but Cassano is perhaps at the top of that list. Cassano joined Real Madrid at the age of 23 – a time when he was highly anticipated due to his potential. Right from the club’s unveiling ceremony, the star was ridiculed by fans for appearing in a flashy fur coat and a dazzling earring.
At a relatively young age, the Italian star easily succumbed to fame and fortune. He used money to satisfy his pleasures, one of which was women. He admitted himself to being a troubled person with uncontrollable sexual desires. Cassano once claimed to have slept with around 600 to 700 women before turning 25.
And that wasn’t Cassano’s only sinful pleasure. He detailed in a book his peculiar desires for women and food, and a special arrangement with one of the hotel staff. He wrote: “His job was to bring me 3 or 4 pastries after I had relations. He would bring the pastries up the stairs, I would escort the girl to him, and then we would exchange. He would keep the girl and I would take the pastries. Satisfying sex and then good food, it was a perfect night.”
At that time, Real Madrid’s sponsor was Nutella. The company provided 5kg of Nutella to the players every month. It was no different than indulging in a sweet demon for Cassano. He gained an additional 17kg from eating Nutella by the spoonful. Real Madrid tried to control the situation and fined him for every gram of excess weight, leading to a new nickname, “El Gordito” (translated roughly as “The Chubby Kid”).
Suffering from an inadequate lifestyle, the football career of the Italian player was further hit by another fatal blow. In 2002, while playing for Roma, Cassano had a falling out with coach Fabio Capello, even calling him “a wretch.” He successfully fled to Madrid to escape that strict mentor, but by 2006, Capello… took over at Bernabeu. This bitter reunion once again ignited the lingering tensions from the past. Their relationship fractured, and Cassano had to find a way to “escape” from that.
The Downfall of a Career
This excessive lifestyle stands in stark contrast to Cassano’s upbringing in a healthy and humble environment. He was born into poverty in Bari, a city in Italy. Abandoned by his father, Cassano’s mother raised him single-handedly. It was on the streets of the impoverished neighborhood in Bari where Cassano developed his initial football skills.
He caught the eye of the youth team before being promoted to Bari’s first team in 1999. The player developed rapidly and began to attract attention with a spectacular goal against Inter Milan at the age of 17. Cassano was dubbed El Pibe de Bari (The Kid from Bari), inspired by the nickname of the legendary Diego Maradona, El Pibe de Oro (The Golden Kid).
The match against Inter Milan lifted Cassano from the prospect of living as a street urchin due to poverty, opening up a bright future for him and his family. Cassano joined Roma in 2001 at the age of 19 for £26 million, becoming the world’s most expensive young player. On the pitch, he performed well, winning the Serie A Young Player of the Year award twice.
But after the ups and downs at Real Madrid, he returned to his homeland and joined Sampdoria on loan. The club hesitated to make his move permanent following the outrageous scandals. However, he behaved fairly well during his three years at Sampdoria, except for a few instances of excessive anger and hot-headedness. It seemed Cassano’s career had been redeemed, but then he clashed with the club president, Riccardo Garrone, and his contract was terminated.
Leaving behind the days of excess and revelry, Cassano has learned valuable life lessons. He made many poor choices in his career. “The Jewel of Bari” was never able to shine brightly because of his inability to control desires, diving into temptations only to self-destruct.