Getty/Franck Fife
- Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez says he received 2 million WhatsApp messages, including death threats, from angry fans after being accused of racially abusing Neymar.
- The Spaniard was accused by Neymar of calling the PSG forward a “monkey” during a match in September, however was cleared of any wrongdoing.
- “Every night I go to bed and when I wake up the next morning, I have 20,000 WhatsApp messages,” Gonzalez told Onda Cero. “I’ve had death threats and so have my parents.”
- “To see photographs of my car being posted in social media scared me. I have not left the house in a month.”
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A Spanish soccer player accused of racially abusing Neymar says he received two million WhatsApp messages, including death threats towards him and his parents, from angry fans after his phone number was shared on social media.
Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez was accused by Neymar of calling him a “monkey” during Marseille’s heated 1-0 win over Paris Saint Germain on September 13.
Gonzalez was cleared of any wrongdoing by the French football authorities, however that hasn’t stopped the 30-year-old from receiving a torrent abuse that has left him scared to leave his own house.
“I don’t know who leaked my phone but I had two million WhatsApp messages when I landed in Marseille from Paris,” Gonzalez told Onda Cero. “Every night I go to bed and when I wake up the next morning, I have 20,000 WhatsApp messages.
“My phone is in the hands of the police. As it is right now, I cannot use it as it’s full. The police have managed to block certain groups. I’ve had death threats and so have my parents. My mother owns a shop and she has received messages, too.
"To see photographs of my car being posted in social media scared me. I have not left the house in a month."
Gonzalez also slammed Neymar for unjustly damaging his reputation, and alleging that the Brazilian star tried to provoke him.
"Neymar told me he won in one day what I earn in a year, and it's true. I told him I was very happy with my salary," he added. "Neymar's whole game that day was unfortunate, full of provocations.
"I did not make any racist insults, I will not allow my football career and myself to be humiliated. Neymar deserves nothing from me, neither my respect nor anything.
"We had a bad time, not just me, my family and more. If I had said anything to him, it would have appeared on all the cameras."
Neymar himself was also accused of making racial slurs towards Marseille's Japanese defender Hiroki Sakai during the same game, however was also cleared of any wrongdoing.
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