Kevin Prince Boateng hurt by racist jibe

Kevin Prince Boateng recently made a switch to Schalke from AC Milan

Schalke 04 new boy Kevin Price Boateng is hurt by comments made by the club’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Peters, who said that racism forced the player to quit Italian football, ESPN FC reports.

Peters reversed his statement after he saw that his comments “caused something of a stir”, as stated on the club’s official website.

Peters said: “Having spoken to our general manager, Horst Heldt, my initial assumption proved to be completely wrong. He confirmed that racist incidents were definitely not the reason for Kevin’s move to Schalke.”

In an interview with Kicker magazine on Thursday Boateng confessed that he was “disappointed by this statement” and acknowledged Peters’s apology.

“Only because of ten people shout ignorant slogans, I don’t leave the country and lump all inhabitants together,” he said. “I want to get one thing straight: Italy is not a racist country!”

The 26-year -old joined Schalke from Italian giants AC Milan for a fee rumored to be €12 million. The player denied that joining Schalke was a step down the ladder for him.

“For me personally, quite the opposite,” he said. “Because I am in the best league in the world and have joined a club that is currently developing. I bear a lot of responsibility here, also for the younger players. That is a major improvement.”

The Ghana international prefers the position of an attacking midfielder, and is in the same club as German starlet Julian Draxler who also favors that role. Draxler has since shifted to the left midfield, a position also plays for his country.

“We will not get in each other’s way,” Boateng said. “I have talked to Julian and said that we should switch positions as often as possible, also with [Jefferson] Farfan on the right wing. It’s not a problem for me to swerve to the wings.”

Boateng stated that he has no issues with Draxler wearing the prestigious number 10 shirt. “Of course, that is a magic number, which everyone in that position wants to have,” he said. “At this age and on this position Julian [Draxler] is the best in the world. That he wears the ten is no problem.”

The midfielder declined to comment on what he hopes to achieve this season “I have exactly one goal at Schalke: to win the next game. And the week after that I have the same goal,” he said. “That’s the only way to win titles.”

Boateng has had stints with English clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth including a loan spell with German giants Borussia Dortmund.