Nicklas Bendtner has revealed misinformed perceptions about his lifestyle choices are hindering his bid to find a new club, claiming some suitors consider him ‘a psychopath’.
Bendtner’s contract expires at the end of the season and he has become frustrated with his bit-part role at Emirates Stadium, with Denmark manager calling on him to jump ship to salvage his career.
But interested clubs are now being put off by ‘stories’ that suggest the Arsenal man prioritises his social life over football.
"The image that people have about me is that I'm all about partying, that I’m indifferent to football, but that's as far from reality as could possibly be,” he told Jyllands-Posten.
"I have, for example, talked to clubs who say they have heard stories about me, then I tell them that none of them are true.
"Of all the things said about me, I’ve only done one thing wrong. That was [drink driving] in Copenhagen.
"People think I’m a psychopath.”
The 26-year-old blamed fabricated media reports for hampering his reputation.
He continued: "[Transfers] work through recommendations and networks. The image of me will never be positive if clubs talk to people who have a negative image of me. People say that I'm a nice guy and a good kid, but there has of course been some things in the 'papers. By saying that there will already be doubts about me."
Bendtner has not been short of confidence in the past, but the forward displayed a renewed realism, claiming he would happily drop to a lesser club in a bid to play regular football.
"I speak with clubs in almost every country," he said. "I speak with reasonably big clubs, but I will not go into a huge club and go through the same situation as now, just because I get a good salary. I don't care about that.
"I would much rather join a club that is close to the Champions League, from fifth to eighth in the league, where I know that I can play."
