Striker admits Leeds United move fueled major problems in his life | OneFootball

Former Leeds United striker Pawel Cibicki has admitted that his transfer to the Yorkshire club in 2017 was a big mistake and that he wished he never moved to Elland Road.

The Swedish star was a relatively unknown footballer but that may have been different had he scored against England in the 2017 U21 European Championship.

Cibicki reckons that goal would have earned him a move to the Premier League but instead, the former striker had to choose between Leeds and Leganes, and he believes he made the wrong decision.

In an interview with Sportbladet via SportWitness, the 30-year-old today opened up about his move to Leeds and his gambling addiction. The Swedish star is still serving a four-year ban for betting offences after deliberately picking up a yellow card in a clash between Elfsborg and Kalmar in 2019.

Cibicki’s career is a sad story and he believes it could have been different.

Pawel Cibicki regrets moving to Leeds United in 2017

Pawel Cibicki in action for Leeds United.

“I had to choose between Leeds and Leganés. I should have obviously chosen Spain and La Liga – that’s much more my kind of football – but Leeds ended up there,” the former footballer told Sportbladet.

“Gambling was about to take over completely, and my girlfriend at the time didn’t want to follow me into professional life, she wanted to stay in Sweden. And when I was left alone there in England, everything went completely off the rails. I was getting a little over 200,000 kronor a month from Leeds – that could be gone in an hour. There was no limit.”

Although his time at Leeds is when the Swedish star lost control of his life, the Yorkshire club cannot be blamed for the decisions Cibicki made. People at the Whites would have very likely tried to help their former player but he may have never brought his issues forward.

Cibicki would only play 10 times for Leeds and it is unfortunate he didn’t enjoy his time with one of England’s biggest and best clubs.