Gabriel Batistuta begged doctor to remove his legs to end terrible pain which made him wet the bed following retirement in 2005

• Gabriel Batistuta retired from football in 2005 after glittering 17-year career
• After retiring he was unable to walk due to lack of cartilage in his legs
• Batistuta wet the bed as he was unable to face pain of walking to bathroom 
• He pleaded with doctor to remove legs so he could be like Oscar Pistorius
• Instead he had screws fitted into one of his legs which largely ended pain 
• Former striker netted 56 times in 78 appearances for Argentina
• Batistuta also scored 207 goals for Fiorentina during nine seasons at club
• He was also a hero at Roma after a move south
  

By Chris Waugh

Published: 03:32 EST, 2 September 2014 | Updated: 07:23 EST, 2 September 2014

Argentina legend Gabriel Batistuta begged a doctor to amputate his legs due to the excruciating pain he felt after retiring in 2005.

The former striker, who netted 56 times in 78 international caps and terrorised defences in Serie A for years, suffered terribly from the stress he had put on his body during a 17-year career.

Batistuta, who netted a penalty against England at the 1998 World Cup, was unable to walk and would wet the bed as he could not face dragging himself to the bathroom.

VIDEO Scroll down for Argentina legend Gabriel Batistuta scores twice in charity match

Agony: Argentina legend Gabriel Batistuta asked for his legs to be amputated due to pain he felt after retiring

Prolific: Batistuta scored 56 goals in 78 appearances for Argentina during his illustrious career

Smiles: Swiss tennis player and former Wimbledon champion Roger Federer (left) pictured with Batistuta

And the former Fiorentina and Roma striker felt in so much pain at the age of 36 that he longed to have his legs removed, just like South African athlete Oscar Pistorius. 

The now 45-year-old told TyC Sports: 'I left football and overnight I couldn’t walk.

'I wet the bed even though the bathroom was only three metres away. It was 4am and I knew if I stood my ankle would kill me.

'I went to see Doctor Avanzi (an Orthopaedics specialist) and told him to cut off my legs. He looked at me and told me I was crazy.

'I couldn’t bear it any longer. I can’t put in to words just how bad the pain was. I looked at Oscar Pistorius and said, "That’s my solution".'

Despite begging doctors to amputate his legs, medical professionals chose to fit screws into one of his legs instead due to the lack of cartilage and tendons.

Argentina legend Gabriel Batistuta scores twice in charity match

Goals: Batistuta netted 300 clubs goals during his career, including 207 for Serie A club Fiorentina

Pain: Batistuta wet the bed after retiring as he could not face the agony of making his way to the bathroom

Recovery: Batistuta (left) no longer suffers from the excruciating pain he did when he originally retired

This largely rectified the problem as it prevented bone rubbing on bone, and Batistuta is no longer suffering from the excruciating pain he felt upon retirement. 

Batistuta made 516 career appearances, scoring 300 goals, including 207 for Fiorentina during a nine-year spell in Florence.

The prolific forward also won the Argentina Primera Division in 1990, as well as Serie A with Roma in 2001. 

Inspiration: Batistuta asked the doctor to amputate his legs as he saw South African athlete Oscar Pistorious

Recovery: Batistuta had screws inserted into his legs to stop the bone from rubbing which helped sort the pain

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