JULIEN FAUBERT sealed a sensational switch to Real Madrid from West Ham – but it seemed he wasn’t that impressed.
While the transfer is well remembered for its bizarre nature, with the Frenchman swapping the Hammers for Europe’s greatest ever club, he is perhaps most remembered in Spain for an unthinkable act.
Julien Faubert made a stunning switch from West Ham to Real Madrid
But he became famous after falling asleep on the bench
Back in 2009, Faubert infamously made headlines in the Spanish press after being pictured “sleeping” on the bench.
But the now retired 39-year-old revealed he had in fact merely slumped back in his chair and shut his eyes for a few seconds.
Speaking to Ladbrokes Fanzone, 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.”
Faubert then revealed how the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Michel Salgado gave him advice in the wake of the event, while his team-mates were not surprised at the “inaccurate representation”.
He added: “It was funny at the time, because obviously it was something all of my team-mates 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.'”
Despite only making the two appearances for the Spanish giants, the jokes did not stop when he returned to England, revealing Carlton Cole was one of the main culprit’s of this teasing.
He said: “Of course, when I came back to West Ham, my team-mates 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!”
Faubert would eventually leave the Hammers in 2012, having made 121 appearances at the club.
