Starting two of Argentina’s games in the last World Cup, the suspended Papu Gómez is training at a club in the Italian third division.
Argentina is the world football champion, after the title won in Qatar, where it had the contribution of Papu Gómez.
The striker started two games: in the opening game against Saudi Arabia and in the round of 16 against Australia. He left in the second half of both games and, interestingly, never played in another game as a substitute.
Despite having won the 2022 World Cupyour career changed completely a few months later.
In October 2023, and just a few weeks after signing for Monza, the Italian club announced that the footballer had been suspended for 2 years due to a positive drug test.
The Argentine accused doping in a surprise control, carried out a year earlier in a training session at the Seville (his team at that time). The control was carried out a few weeks before the 2022 World Cup.
Gómez said he had taken a cough syrupfrom one of his children, during a morning when the cough did not go away.
Now it is train with an Italian third division club.
In an interview with a podcastthe world champion said that it is now “a common person, one family man“.
“I’m working on my ego, calming it down and trying to live. I went from world champion to someone no one cares about anymore, to disappearing from the scene and not playing anymore“, quote or .
The striker admits that he was still excited about the idea of returning, but when he found out that the suspension was for 2 years… “The world fell on me“, resume.
The punishment was only announced in 2023, but Papu Gómez has already Did you know about the positive test at the 2022 World Cup?. But, just a few days before the final against France, he preferred don’t tell to the other players on the Argentina national team.
“It seemed to me selfish, I didn’t want anyone to think about anything other than the final. I often thought ‘If one day I become world champion, I won’t play anymore‘. Sometimes we ask and life gives us. I went from being world champion to not playing football anymore”, he commented.
