Ibrahim Afellay was surprised to learn of a new Ryan Babel track. in the number Open Letter Galatasaray’s candid attacker looks back on moments from his career and sneezes at Afellay, with whom he played together at the the Dutch squad. Babel suggests that Afellay has money problems. “Heard in the corridors you’re broke, bro”, Babel raps, among other things. Afellay refuses to sneer back at Babel.
“Yes… with surprise actually”, Afellay responds to Studio Football when asked how he looked at the rap. “I can only be positive about him. I have only experienced him with the Dutch national team and I know him as a very nice boy. I don’t have a single bad word for him.” In the track, Babel says he “don’t even want to start talking about men on TV,” which he finds “lame.” A photo of Afellay appears, showing the former midfielder on the bench at Barcelona. Bro I don’t know you from Barcelona, maybe more from PSV. Oh now you’re an analyst? Hmm so so. Heard in the corridors you’re broke bro. You say things you don’t think about that bro code anymore. But I understand when your career is dead.”
Marcel van Roosmalen’s ‘Short Corner’ in Studio Voetbal. ‘The world of Ryan Babel’?? pic.twitter.com/UBRr87I3k4
— NOS Football (@NOS Football) September 26, 2021
Sjoerd van Ramshorst then asks whether Afellay is having financial problems. Theo Janssen jokingly says that Afellay came to the studio with two cars; before Afellay can say anything about it himself, the topic is closed by the presenter. Before that, Janssen said that Babel has achieved a lot as a footballer for his ability. “Ryan is just a reasonable player who has had a very nice career, a bit like Dirk Kuyt. You have to respect that. But if you look at him substantively as a football player, it was not a great man.”
In June, Babel already showed via Instagram that he was not a fan of Afellay. He then responded to a message from LaLiga, in which all Dutch (former) players of Barcelona were listed following the arrival of Memphis Depay. In the list was also the name of Afellay. In the comments, Babel used the clown emoji to describe Afellay, suggesting that the former midfielder should not be taken seriously.
It was then unclear where the disagreement between Babel and Afellay came from. Presumably, as an analyst, Afellay said things that did not appeal to Babel. In the run-up to the European Championship, Afellay mentioned Studio Football seven attackers he would include in the pre-selection and Babel was not among them. In the end, the 69-time international actually fell by the wayside. In 2017, Babel told de Volkskrant that he was disappointed that he was not allowed to participate in the European Championship 2012 and Afellay was. “I was fit and in shape. It’s nothing personal to Ibrahim Afellay, but he had been injured for a year and came along.”