‘I slept on Real Madrid bench after strangest transfer – everybody ripped me’
Julien Faubert's 2009 loan move to Real Madrid will surely go down as one of the most random transfer deals of all time.
The Frenchman, then of West Ham United, swapped east London for Madrid, going on to make just two appearances for the Spanish giants during his six-month spell with Los Blancos.
However, during that time, Faubert infamously hit the Spanish headlines after being snapped 'sleeping' on the Real Madrid bench.
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Sitting on the Real Madrid bench, Faubert slumped back into his chair and closed his eyes briefly. That was all the Spanish media needed according to Faubert, who then portrayed the winger as if he had 'fallen asleep' during Real Madrid's clash with Villarreal.
And speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes Fanzone, Faubert revealed the sleeping story served as a real "welcome to Madrid" moment for him, with the Frenchman ending up receiving advice from the likes of Michel Salgado and Ruud van Nistelrooy in the wake of the incident.
Faubert said: "It's funny because one of the moments I'm most known for during my time with Madrid is that picture of me 'sleeping' on the bench during a game.
"I can say now, I was very much a rookie at that stage in my career when it came to the media.
"It was unbelievable, the Spanish media… they just wanted to make stories. For a few seconds, I just slumped back in my chair and closed my eyes, and that was it; the media said they'd caught me sleeping.
"It was funny at the time, because obviously it was something all of my teammates were used to, and they knew that the photos weren't an accurate representation. The players just said "welcome to Madrid!
"A couple of the older guys, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Michel Salgado, came to me and said 'Julien, this is Madrid; even when you are outside, you are not alone. You need to be careful with everything. The only place you can relax and be yourself is at home.'"
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And following his 'sleeping on the bench' incident, Faubert also revealed he was subjected to plenty of jokes from his West Ham team mates upon his return to the club the following season.
He added: "Of course, when I came back to West Ham, my teammates joked around with me about the whole thing.
"Carlton Cole was one of the main culprits; the first day I returned to training, he came over to me, offered his hand out and asked me how I'd like him to greet me; was I a sir now, or something else?!
"And then, often in training, if I made a quick burst down the wing, Mark Noble would say something like "wow, guys we've got a Real Madrid player in our team!"
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