Martin Hinteregger is one of the most reflective players in the Bundesliga. The development of professional football makes the Augsburg player frustrated. He gives the club bosses a clear piece of advice.

Martin Hinteregger is not an ordinary Bundesliga player. The Austrian is the one who has a position. When Per Mertesacker reported on the enormous pressure in professional football, the professional from FC Augsburg enriched the debate with reports from his own career. When it came to facing RB Leipzig, he clearly positioned himself against the Red Bull construct. Where other professionals use common cliches and look for the end of the interview, the 25-year-old expresses his position. At the Augsburg training camp, he did it once again.

Speaking about the current development of professional football, Hinteregger came to an extraordinary monologue. "As a professional footballer, you can not be yourself anymore. It would be nice if you could say what you think. And not what you have to say to keep it quiet, " complained the Austrian international in Längenfeld.

Hinteregger got rid of his smartphone

It goes "in the extremely wrong direction," said Hinteregger. "The football is changing you. Everything that comes to you automatically turns you into another person."  

For him, the best thing would be "if you could honestly say your opinion without being immediately interpreted as a criticism." He himself has therefore become more restrained.

Given the excesses, Hinteregger advised the club bosses to be more carefree on the football fields. "Then they know again what football is." These are "the roots".

Even in his private life, Hinteregger took measures to counteract the aloofness of the professional life. He replaced his smartphone with an old flip phone. "It gives you 80 percent less news, but you have a lot more time and peace," he said.

Source: Die Welt