'I found Juve players smoking in toilets and they never made a secret of it' - Bendtner

Danish forward Nicklaus Bendtner described his first experience at Juventus as an "amazing sight", revealing that ten or twelve of the Bianconeri were in the 'toilet having a coffee, talking and smoking'.

Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner. Photo: Lars Ronbog / FrontZoneSport via Getty Images

Bendtner was speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live about his experience at the Italian club in 2012-13.

“It was in the bathroom, I couldn't find the guys and it was a little bit weird. You know, it was my first day. Obviously I got quite quickly onto the coffee wagon as well.

“Then I found ten or twelve of them in the toilets, just having a coffee, talking, enjoying each other's company - and having a cig.

It was an amazing sight and made me feel like this was something I will enjoy.”

Players like Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo never made a secret of their smoking, however, that didn't affect their performances.

“What can you say to these guys? If you look at their careers and how professional they are, it was a real eye opener to me actually regarding these two.

“Because the professionalism they showed on the pitch and the camaraderie was on a different level, so no one thought anything of it.”

The British press got scandalised when Mario Balotelli exported this approach to Manchester City and Liverpool.

Bendtner further revealed: “It's funny because you remember when Mario Balotelli came to England and everyone said about him smoking in the toilets.

“And it became this massive story in the paper - a player smoking. In every single club I've played in, players have been smoking.

“It was much more of a thing in Italy, much more of a normality than in England.”