Pamela Anderson's ex, Adil Rami, has claimed the paparazzi "scared" him and forced him to flee France.
Adil Rami: Paparazzi made me flee France
The 36-year-old soccer star - who dated the 'Baywatch' beauty, 54, for two years between 2017 and 2019 - has said "gossip" and being followed by paparazzi made him leave Marseille, where the pair had lived together, in 2019.
Adil quit Ligue Un and alleged that "influential people" tried to stop him from returning to the sport, however, he made his return to football when he signed to Troyes last year.
He told L'Equipe: "The gossip has deceived people. I did not ask to be in it, but my girlfriend was an icon and many people were influenced by all that stuff.
"I got scared by all that paparazzi and I had to flee France.
"I do not regret having played for Marseille, it is one of my greatest reasons for pride, but perhaps it was not the right time.
"When I left Marseille, influential people did everything possible so that I did not return to Ligue Un.
"They did everything to make me leave football. This is where I tell myself that I can be proud of myself. They tried to drown me several times and I'm still here, standing."
Elsewhere in the interview, Adil claimed handsome footballers are an "easy prey" for fame-hungry women.
He added: "(Footballers are) an easy prey, yes! The soccer player, athletically, is handsome.
"He has money and is young. Without generalising, but there are still many girls, let's say interested, in your money or in your fame. Sometimes they just want to gain followers on social networks to make themselves known.
"On vacation, you meet so many easy women, with guys with pockets full of drugs… If I had been a little less strong mentally, I was dead. Without my friends would have been quite difficult."
Following their split, Pamela accused Adil, who she called a "monster", of still dating Sidonie Biemont, the mother of his twins, throughout their relationship - and the other woman was just as shocked.
She wrote on Instagram: "It's hard to accept
"The last (more than) 2.years of my life have been a big lie.
"I was scammed, led to believe ... we were in big love ?. I'm devastated to find out in the last few days. That he was living a double life.
"He used to joke about other players who had girlfriends down the street in apartments close to their wives. He called those men monsters. ?
"But this is worse. He lied to all. How is it possible to control 2 women's hearts and minds like this -
"I'm sure there were others. He is the monster. How could I have helped so many people @ndvhofficial and not be wise enough or able to help myself."
In a comment on her post, she also wrote: "I'm glad I spoke to his ex. My God. He lied to her about all too. She's also in shock and is very sad. It's the evidence I needed to move on. He can't hurt us more.(sic)"
Pamela had claimed she had to tell her story on Instagram because Adil warned her he and his family "controlled" the media.
She also previously said she tried to leave Adil "10 times" and that she was "scared" of the centre-back.
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