Boateng: Racism not a reason for move

By Football Italia staff

Kevin Prince Boateng has rejected the idea that he quit Milan for Schalke because of the racism he encountered in Italy.

Schalke director Peter Peters made that claim in an interview with Bild Sport Plus earlier in the week following the late August transfer of the player.

“What he said disappoints me because it is not true,” the Ghana international told Tuttosport on Friday. “Absolutely not.

“I have never said that I wanted to leave Italy because of racism.

“If I decided to end my experience at Milan then it was simply because I wanted to go and play in a championship that was more suited to my way of playing football.

“I gave it a lot of thought because I knew that I would miss the city, my friends and also Italy.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but it was made three months ago with [my girlfriend] Melissa.”

The versatile midfielder stood up against the racists at the start of 2013 when, after being abused by some fans, he walked off during an abandoned friendly against Pro Patria.

The 26-year-old joined the Rossoneri in the 2010 from Portsmouth via Genoa. It is believed he was sold to Schalke for a fee in the region of €11m.

He scored 17 goals in 100 games for the Rossoneri.

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