Japan legend Hidetoshi Nakata has revealed the reason why he chose to retire whilst with Fiorentina in 2006.
The former midfielder chose to hang up his boots at 29-years-old with a year left on his contract at the Viola, admitting that he had fell out of love with football.
“Day after day I realised that football had just become a big business,” the now 36-year-old told TMW Magazine.
“I could feel that the team were playing just for money and not for the sake of having fun. I always felt that a team was like a big family, but it stopped being like that.
“I was sad, that’s why I stopped at only 29.”
The former Perugia, Roma, Parma, Bologna and Bolton Wanderers player also explained how he initially chose to play in Italy.
“Before Perugia, Juventus came for me. When I was 19-years-old I had a trial with the Juventus Primavera but for a month I didn’t even train with the first team,” Nakata continued.
“That’s why when I went back to Japan, but I always thought that I wanted to go back and play in Italy.
“After the World Cup in France ‘98, that’s when I signed with Perugia. There were a lot of teams after me, but Luciano Gaucci’s club seemed like the best option at the time.”
