Nicklas Bendtner says he is tired of being portrayed as an 'idiot'

Bendtner has been struggling to cement a regular starting berth at Wolfsburg

From being called Lord Bendtner to being the target of meme's around the internet, Nicklas Bendtner says he is “tired of being portrayed like an idiot” and he is fighting as hard as possible to get his way back into Wolfsburg’s starting XI.

Wolfsburg will take on Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but since his arrival at Wolfsburg last year, the former Arsenal forward has had a torrid 16 months at the club. In a recent interview with German magazine 11Freunde, he has pledged to work harder than ever to lead the Wolfsburg forward line in all competitions.

“You can ask anyone at Wolfsburg: Is Nicklas in the gym before training? Is Nicklas always in the gym after training? And anyone would confirm that [I am]. I have even bought an exercise bike for my flat. That I am working hard is there for everyone to see.”

“I have always had a huge desire but perhaps not always the right perspective. I used to think that a forward’s responsibility was to score goals. Now I know that you have to run as well.”

In a self-confidence test at Arsenal, Jaques Crevoisier, a psychiatrist at the club had once said, “On a scale up to 9, Bendtner got 10! and Bendtner has described this story as ‘absurd’ in his wide-ranging interview.

Bendtner calls himself a tiger

Bendtner has only had three starts this season, but he feels people have misunderstood him completely and the criticism he has received from the fans has been completely unfair.

“I don’t say yes to every interview request. I am tired of being portrayed as an idiot. And even journalists who I trust are not capable of describing in words what I am feeling when I am not playing.”

Towards the end of last season, Bendtner missed a fan event claiming to have a sore throat, and this received widespread criticism from the media reporting that the Danish forward is “finished“ at Wolfsburg.

To that Bendtner took to Instagram to say “ Anyone who wants to write shit about me, and try to put me down, go ahead. This tiger will fight till the end”.

He was also dropped for coming in late for training earlier that season.

Bendtner, however, hit back at his critics once again in true Bendtner fashion by saying “The tiger stands at the end of the food chain. He eats to survive, without any compassion, he doesn’t even feel it. He is the predator par excellence, an animal of dangerous beauty.”