Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes sent his support to Czech Republic's Jakub Jankto after the footballer became the first current international in men's football to publicly come out as gay.
Jankto, who is on loan at Sparta Prague from Spanish side Getafe, made the announcement on social media on Monday. The 27-year-old made his senior debut for the Czech Republic in 2017 and has scored four goals in 45 appearances.
He has made 10 league appearances for Sparta Prague, registering one goal and one assist, since joining the club on loan. The midfielder has spent a lot of his club career in Italy, playing for the likes of Udinese, Ascoli and Sampdoria.
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Taking to Twitter to publicly come out as gay, Jankto said: "Like everybody else, I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses, I have a family, I have my friends. I have a job that I have been doing as best as I can for years with seriousness, with professionalism and passion."
He added: "Like everybody else, I also want to live my life in freedom without fears, without prejudice, without violence but with love. I am homosexual and I no longer want to hide myself."
Reds midfielder Fernandes was one of several footballers to comment on the post, with the Portuguese international commenting with a clapping emoji.
Last year, Blackpool player Jack Daniels became the first professional player in the UK men's game for over 30 years to come out as gay while still actively playing. Moreover, before Jankto publicly came out, Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo was the only current openly gay top-flight male professional player in the world. He came out in October 2021.
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