It’s no secret that Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo is not one of the friendliest guys to go up against on the pitch. Still, his first press conference as a Palmeiras player was nothing short of shocking.
The former Galatasaray and Internazionale player started out by saying the media was to blame for his bad-boy reputation.
“This story that Felipe Melo is a malicious player was made up by the media,” he told reporters. “If I’m not wrong, my yellow card average is lower than Gabriel Jesus’s. If I’m not wrong, I was sent off fewer times than Fernandinho, who plays on the national team.”
His guessing work was on point. Last season, Gabriel Jesus tallied eight yellow cards in 25 matches for Palmeiras while Melo had only six in 31 games.
He was also correct on the Fernandinho front, as Manchester City’s midfielder has already been sent off three times in just 24 games this season. Melo, on the other hand, received only two red cards in the 31 appearances he had last season.
This is where fans might think: “He’s right. The media is twisting everything. This guy is a great and loyal player.”
Well, think again.
After that proclamation of innocence, Melo went on to lay out what he would do for his new club if push came to shove.
“I don’t see any problem. If I have to beat someone up, I’ll beat someone up. If we’re playing in Uruguay and I have to slap an Uruguayan in the face, I’ll slap an Uruguayan in the face, because that’s part of how I play.
“Always with responsibility, because I’m 33 years old today and obviously my idea is not to leave the squad a man down. With each passing year, I’ve been getting better, but you can be sure that if there is a one-on-one situation with the other guy about to score and I have to beat him up, he’s going to get smacked.”
Peachy, right?
Melo is a great player, and his highlight reels speak for themselves:
Nevertheless, when you do stuff like this:
And this:
It gets a bit tough to run away from the bad-boy image, especially if you keep giving interviews like that.
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