The Barça player who went from being Usain Bolt's neighbor to living as a homeless person.

Barcelona"I'm a champion, I'm a great champion, I'm not a criminal." While being arrested for the fifth time in as many weeks, Samardo Samuels began to scream. The former Barça basketball player, who was listening to extremely loud music, appeared in the courtyard of a Milan building drinking alcohol. His dog was at his side.

According to The DaySamuels is currently facing a stalking trial and also violated a restraining order involving two members of the neighboring family who filed a complaint against him. The previous complaints that resulted in arrests included a handful of public altercations involving other city residents.

Italian police received a call on Saturday from a woman who said Samuels was in the hallway of the building, preventing her and her family, including two minors, from entering the house. The terrified children continued to cry. The former Jamaican footballer initially pretended not to understand Italian as an excuse and locked himself in his apartment, but eventually made himself available to police officers.

Samuels, who had experience in the NBA and had played for Olimpia Milan, signed for Xavi Pascual's Barça in the 2015-16 season. After his time with the Blaugrana, the center tried his luck in China and Italy. The player signed for Betis, but didn't even make his debut with the Seville team in the Endesa League because he used social media to criticize the then Betis coach, Alejandro Martínez. His next destination was Partizan, where he caused further controversy. "I don't normally give interviews to women," he once said before being sanctioned.

Limoges, Panionios, and Chorale Roanne Basket were his last teams before retiring and beginning to live as a homeless person. As he explained The NewspaperThe former Barça player was sleeping in his Porsche with the windows smashed in a Barcelona parking lot. His extreme situation led him to engage in several riots. In one of them, he hit someone's head with a stick.

Usain Bolt's neighbor

The story of Samardo Samuels, who as a child wanted to be a soccer player and when he was a professional he was motivated by thereggaeBefore each match, it's peculiar. "Usain Bolt lives 15 minutes from my house, where I grew up. His mother and mine are good friends. They have dinner together often and see each other every day. They've been friends for a long time," the player explained on Esport3. "I've known Usain since high school, when I was 13 or 14, he was the boy."

"When I went to Barcelona I thought I could finally win the Euroleague and play with good players. In Milan I was doing well, but I knew that in Barcelona a more powerful team was being organized. The idea was very exciting and for me it was a great opportunity -he said-. added Samuels, a Popeye fan. His connection with the Palau Blaugrana was immediate and the Barça fans celebrated his outgoing attitude.

For years, the main American analysts positioned Samuels as a future NBA star, but his adaptation to the best league in the world was not easy and he was not able to fit in with any European team.