Why ‘introverted’ USMNT star Christian Pulisic agreed to documentary as AC Milan forward reveals present & future goals

The United States international is the leading man in a production from Paramount Plus. Pulisic is giving fans a rare glimpse into his private life, while offering opinions on a wide range of subjects.

He is far from being the first to take the docuseries plunge, with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney proving with ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ how beneficial such shows can be. Pulisic, however, has never been once to crave the limelight and has revealed why now is the right time for him to take centre stage.

Pulisic, who continues to star for Serie A giants AC Milan at club level, has told The Athletic when asked why he has hit the small screen: “One of my biggest goals is inspiring that next generation of soccer players and my country back home and getting people excited. I look at the timing of a World Cup coming up in the U.S. and the sport is the biggest it’s ever been. It seems like the right time.

“Some of us are more introverted, some of us are more outgoing. I hope some people can see this documentary and think, ‘I relate to him’. Hopefully, they see how I am as a person and realize, ‘OK, maybe not all football stars are wanting to be so glamorous and in the spotlight all the time’. I hope they see that I’m kind of the opposite of that and see some of the struggles that I go through on a day-to-day basis as an American battling in Europe to try to be one of the best players in the world.”

In the documentary, Pulisic – along with international colleague Weston McKennie – speaks about how there is still “bias” in Europe against American players. He added on how that mindset has impacted his goals for the present and future: “It just inspires me to work that much harder and to have to be better — not even giving them a decision to make and saying, ‘This is the guy that we want playing’. So that’s always pushed me.

“I think it’s in a better place now. I hope I’ve had a say in that and other people look around and say, ‘This guy’s American and he is doing it at the highest level, so we need to respect some of these guys’. Look how many Americans in the last five to 10 years have come over to Europe. We have players in the Champions League and some of the highest leagues in the world. It is not our biggest driver of wanting to prove them wrong. It’s just something that is out there.”

Pulisic is doing his bit for that cause, as he continues to post personal bests in Italy, and will hope that branching out into the world of documentary streaming inspires men and women across America to follow in his illustrious footsteps.