Jakub Jankto, the former Getafe footballer who broke taboos by publicly announcing his homosexuality, retires at 29.

Czech Jakub Jankto , former Getafe player who broke the great taboo of homosexuality in football precisely in the season he wore the blue and white, has announced his retirement from professional football at the young age of 29 after being unable to recover from a serious ankle injury.

Jankto, who has also played for Udinese, Ascoli, Sparta Prague and Cagliari , played in fifteen matches for Getafe that season, a small number of matches for the team managed first by Míchel González and then Quique Sánchez Flores.

"I received many messages asking if I would continue my football career. Unfortunately, no . The reason is simple: I suffered a very serious injury (it completely destroyed my ankle ligaments). I tried to overcome it to make it to the end of the year, but my son was key in my decision," Jankto said on social media.

There is speculation that the Czech will return to Prague, where he could work as a coach for one of Dukla's youth teams.

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"I'm gay, and I don't want to hide any longer," was the phrase Jankto shared on his social media to communicate the message he was most afraid to share: "I want to live my life in freedom, without fear, without prejudice, without violence, but with love," he concluded.

His ex-wife, who shared the toughest moments of this process with him, also revealed the player's situation: " I'm proud that Jankto was able to muster up enough strength to tell it publicly . He's the first active footballer to announce it. The others, perhaps, keep it a secret out of fear," his partner noted at the time.

"Now the important thing is that he is comfortable and happy. He's probably relieved because he was afraid people wouldn't accept him for who he was," she concluded in a statement in which she expressed her unwavering support.