Monaco's Italian striker Christian Vieri has broken his self-imposed media silence - rubbishing reports that he is a "cocaine addict".
"My problem has been the vast difference between what I let people know about me and what the newspapers like to say. When I was 20 years old I would go out clubbing every night, but at 32 I act differently," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "There's even talk I'm a cocaine addict, but that's complete rubbish, like 80 per cent of the things said about me."
Vieri has always had a tough rapport with the Italian Press, which came to a head at Euro 2004 when he said he was "more of a man" than all the journalists put together.
"Regret is a hard word to say, but I wouldn't repeat that phrase. It was a mistake, above all to generalise and drag in people who weren't involved."
This was one of the reasons why he opted to leave Italy and head for Monaco in January, where he has been scoring regularly under coach Francesco Guidolin.
"Monaco wanted me and I don't consider them to be a taxi to get me to the World Cup," he assured. "My form is growing day by day and I am grateful to this club and Guidolin. I return to Milan once a week, but the atmosphere here is so relaxed. I think I could play until 2010."
