Galatasaray forward on sharing his story via music, what he made of Benítez at Liverpool and where he wants to play next
Ryan Babel releases his autobiography on Friday. Nothing extraordinary in that, you might think; he is 34 and in the final stages of an eventful career, after all. But this autobiography is an eight-track rap album written and performed by the former Liverpool forward. “The whole point was to try to do something different, something creative and something that hasn’t been done before,” says Babel. As with the best autobiographies, it does not hold back.
“I was inspired to do it,” explains Babel, who is in Amsterdam to promote The Autobiography – Chapter 1 and an accompanying short film during time off from Galatasaray in the international break. “When I was back at Ajax a little under two years ago a journalist approached me and asked if I was willing to start the process of writing an autobiography. My feeling was it was a little too early. I wasn’t ready. But then we went into the first lockdown and had to stay at home and I got bored. And that’s where the idea came from. I thought: ‘Why don’t I take the concept of the autobiography in music format?’ So I called a few music friends here in Holland to see how busy they were and explained the concept. They were very excited to help me and that’s how the journey started.”
