Alex Iwobi insists he was unmoved by the online abuse he suffered after Nigeria lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Ivory Coast.
The Fulham midfielder was targeted on social media, leading him to remove all of his previous Instagram posts as he was singled out for criticism following the 2-1 loss to the hosts in February.
Iwobi, 27, had already been questioned during the competition for perceived poor form.
But the former Arsenal winger said he did not even see the earlier posts as he focused on getting as far as he could with Nigeria.
“The whole competition I didn’t see it,” he said on his new Project 17 podcast.
“I remember in a press conference they said, ‘where is the creativity?’ and I had to address the role I was given and I said I am the kind of guy who will listen to my coach and try to do the job I’m told to do.”
Even after the loss to Ivory Coast, Iwobi was instead reading messages of support from friends and family rather than scrolling through any abuse on his social media accounts.
“The game is done now, obviously I’m disappointed – I’m on my phone but I don’t check Twitter. I’m on Snapchat and WhatsApp with all my people telling me I’ve done my nation proud.”
It was not until the following day that Iwobi was made aware of any comments as Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and other members of the squad rallied round and attempted to put out a collective statement condemning the insults.
“At two o’clock there was a knock on the door, I was like, ‘I don’t want room service’ but I looked through the keyhole and it is Victor Osimhen,” added Iwobi.
“I’m half-asleep with my hair everywhere but he said, ‘I’m not going to lie to you, they’ve been talking about you a lot on social media and I want to make sure you’re good. They’re saying you’re apparently going to retire, you’re depressed’.
“It is what it is, it is not the first time. The first AFCON where I got sent off it happened, at Arsenal it constantly happened, at Everton when I signed for two years it happened, that is football. I would rather be off social media, I don’t want to see that and I don’t care.
“They wanted to put out a statement saying cyber bullying is wrong and I said, ‘I hear that but we are just going to create a bigger scene’ but they said we needed to stand as one.
“They were standing up for me but I said no because the world would think I was down, I’m actually calm, just listening to music.”
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Iwobi is now back on Instagram and posts the occasional message on X and, while he condemns cyberbullying, he maintains he has not let it impact his life.
“I’m really tired of socials, really and truly,” he added.
“I would rather just be real in real life. I have seen people come off socials, like Stormzy and Jay-Z don’t have it and I feel they are living life peacefully.
“I don’t want people to think I am affected because I’m not. We came to the conclusion I needed to jump back on socials and it was important for people to see how I felt, rather than a statement where I thank you for the support and say that cyberbullying is wrong.
“Obviously now I’m back and seeing messages, I said thank you but I didn’t want to go into detail. It was a crazy period.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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