I slept rough on the streets of Milan for 10 YEARS after getting lost at the San Siro but I loved my new-found freedom
A FOOTBALL FAN has amazingly claimed he ended up sleeping rough in Milan for A DECADE after getting lost following a match at the San Siro stadium.
Swiss pensioner Rolf Bantle travelled to Italy back in 2004 to watch FC Basel in a Champions League qualifier against Inter Milan.
The Serie A side triumphed 4-1 that night, but things got much worse for Bantle.
He says that he went to the toilet during the game but became disorientated afterwards and could not find his friends.
Bantle “had no commitments” and opted to remain in Milan and eventually spent ten years being homeless there.
Explaining his extraordinary story to Schweiz am Sonntag back in 2015, Bantle said: “I was suddenly in a different sector.
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“I had about €20 in my pocket and no phone so I wandered into Milan.
“People gave me food and cigarettes, and one student offered me a sleeping bag.”
He was reported missing after the match but he revealed that he had no close relatives and had been living in a rehab centre due to heavy drinking prior to his trip to Milan.
Bantle was able to shower on a weekly basis in a public washroom and used to regularly visit a local library to keep himself entertained.
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He said: “There was for me no longer any reason to go home.
“I enjoyed the freedom of Milan.”
Bantle decided to finally return to Switzerland after a fall led to a broken femur.
He was taken to an Italian hospital, where workers soon realised he had no health insurance and quickly contacted the Swiss consulate, who subsequently arranged to bring him back home.
Bantle was living in a retirement home in Switzerland at the time of his interview and appeared to be delighted to no longer be living on the streets.
He added: “I like it here. Ten years is enough and here I feel very good now.”