Kevin-Prince Boateng has shared for the first time, his meeting with Nelson Mandela, and how the legend wanted him to marry one of his daughters.
The Ghanaian footballer shared this detail during a chat with Guardian UK, adding that he had always wanted to meet the South African leader – a wish which was granted 7 years ago, when Ghana made the quarter finals of the World Cup held in South Africa in 2010.
“It’s just joy. Mandela was in prison for 27 years just because he stood up for his rights and he sits there and has no anger inside. He should be angry with the whole world, but he wasn’t. He’s calm, just there in his little seat saying hello to everybody,” the Las Palmas midfielder tells Guardian UK.
Adding, “[Mandela] makes you feel calm. He was shining. It’s like a movie. It’s like an angel sitting there.”
But the most memorable moment during this meeting was when Mandela asked the footballer to marry one of his daughters. Boateng had been fretting about what exactly to tell the legend, and so was put at ease immediately by the legend’s request.
According to Kevin-Prince Boateng, here’s how the scene played out:
“We go into the room: ‘Hello… hello… hello.’ He shook my hand, pulled me towards him and said: ‘My daughter wants to marry you.’ I said: ‘Sorry I already have a girlfriend.’ He said: ‘No, no but I have others, more beautiful.’ Everyone was laughing.”
Well, Boateng’s marriage to Jennifer Boateng had failed and he was dating Melissa Satta. He later married Melissa in 2016, after his divorce from Jennifer was finalised in 2011.
And that’s how the footballer missed out on continuing the Mandela legacy. Haha!
