How Cassano, Rothen and Agbonlahor Transformed From Football Heroes to Angry Critics

Now, they’re pissing everyone off. “When I look at Anthony worth 85M pounds, I am starting to think he’s a charlatan!”. “I don’t want to see these players on the pitch. If you love PSG, get out, guys!” “If Man City had my mother playing on the left side of the defense, they would still beat Man United.”

These striking comments didn’t come out from nameless football fans on the internet. These are statements made by star experts: Italy’s Antonio Cassano, 41, France’s Jerome Rothen, 45, and Gabriel Agbonlahor, 37, respectively. All they do is criticize everyone, even though not so long ago, they were in the shoes of those they were mocking. Let’s learn about the transformation of great footballers into angry critics.

Each of the experts has their “favorite victim.” Cassano, Rothen, and Agbonlahor wouldn’t be themselves if they hadn’t chosen a star target. 

Jerome Rothen

Zinedine Zidane once saw Rothen as his successor in the national team. Jerome’s finest hour was in 2003-2004; he won the Confederations Cup and played at Euro 2004. Now, Rothen is Lionel Messi’s prominent hater. During his two seasons at PSG, arguably one of the best players in football, he has given several occasions for rebuke. Yet, Jerome’s criticism goes too wide: 

”He said he adapted well. My dear, what have you adapted to? You scored 18 goals and made 16 assists against weak opposition? Oh Gosh! Messi walks the pitch; he is so slow. If I learn he extends his contract with PSG, I won’t set foot at the Parc des Princes!” 

He was obviously excited when he learned about Leo’s departure to Inter Miami.

Antonio Cassano

The legendary Francesco Totti once called Antonio the most talented player he had ever played with. Totti’s combination with young Cassano at AC Roma was one of the brightest memories of European soccer in the 2010s. At Euro 2012, where the Italians were runners-up, Antonio had formed a new super connection with the “great and terrible” Mario Balotelli.

Cassano established himself as an expert in the Bobo TV project on Twitch. The project blasted off immediately: after just a few months in Twitch metrics, it ranked first in view growth rate and fourth overall among all sports channels. It gained more than 800,000 unique viewers. Bobo TV’s virtual guests were Pep Guardiola, Ronaldo, and Gianluigi Buffon. 

Unlike Rothen, Cassano has it the other way around when it comes to Messi. When meeting him, he exclaimed: “Leo is God!” But Mourinho… In the spring of 2023, Antonio pounced on one of the world’s most titled coaches, now in charge of his former club, AC Roma. Allegedly, Jose ‘has shown nothing,” ‘he is getting worse and worse,” “he doesn’t care about anything,” and “he’s just nobody.”

Gabriel Agbonlahor

The son of a Nigerian and a Scot became the top scorer in the history of Aston Villa and the club’s true legend, spending his entire career in one team. He was swift, bright, and efficient in the second half of the 2000s. In November 2007, Gabriel was awarded EPL’s Player of the Month. In 2008 and 2009, he played three matches for the England national team.

However, the English press reported that at the beginning of his career, Gabriel was dating three girls, who got pregnant by him at about the same time. The worst thing was a party with laughing gas in the hotel, which Gabby arranged on the day of Aston Villa’s relegation from the Premier League in 2016. 

This was not forgiven: the forward infuriated the fans, he was suspended from the first team, and he refused the captain’s armband. It was the beginning of the end of his career.

On his side, Agbonlahor has long been feuding with Jurgen Klopp. First, he recalled on social media the match against Liverpool — even before Jurgen had come there — when he scored the winning goal. And then he parried on air, “Come on, Jurgen, that’s too much. I don’t need Klopp to teach me how to be an expert; he needs to concentrate on his job as a coach.”

Of course, Gabby didn’t stop there: “Klopp has behaved like a kid. He breaks down under pressure.” And how about this: “Liverpool are terrible. Perhaps karma has befallen Klopp.” However, not so long ago, Agbonlahor went for reconciliation and put the German at the top of the favorite coaches list in the Premier League.

They were bright footballers, but they all underperformed, primarily because of their misbehavior and endless scandals. Overweight and partying were these players’ true friends throughout their careers. This probably explains their aggressive expert’s stances.