Nearly all of Sebastien Frey’s professional career was spent in Serie A. The former French goalkeeper represented Verona, Inter, Parma, Fiorentina, and Genoa between 1998 and 2013, recording 448 Serie A appearances.After hanging up his gloves, Frey withdrew from public life, prompting years of silence – until he broke it in an emotional interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, in which he spoke candidly about his career, life after football, and a near-death health scare.##NAJAVA_MECA_8916688##”In 2019, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease,” Frey revealed. “I had a persistent cough, fevers – I felt so terrible that my legs were paralyzed. I couldn’t walk for a month. I truly thought that was the end. I had already prepared my will. But then my body started producing antibodies, and somehow, I pulled through.”After that, I turned to buddhism, which helped me enormously. My inspiration came from Roberto Baggio,” he added.Sébastien Frey, Gabriel Batistuta and Ronaldo. pic.twitter.com/23oFt3d4cc— 90s Football (@90sfootball) May 7, 2022 On the pitch, Frey had the privilege of playing alongside and against some of the best to ever do it. Yet, his choice for the greatest is clear.”My son grew up watching Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but I had the chance to play with the Brazilian Ronaldo, and he’s my number one,” Frey said.”All respect to Messi and Cristiano, but Ronaldo was the Michael Jordan of football. I also played with Adriano at Parma – at that time, there weren’t many better than him. He was simply incredible. A gentle giant made of clay. The death of his father completely destroyed his life and career.”Genoa tripped up Napoli and ignited a fiery Serie A finish!Frey also expressed reasons for his disdain toward Juventus.”My worst injury came against Juventus,” he recalled. “Marcelo Zalayeta twisted awkwardly and hit me – I couldn’t continue the match. You know what? He never even apologized. Two years later, he got injured. That’s karma.”But buddhism has since taught me how to manage my anger and emotions,” Frey concluded.
