International footballer Jakub Jankto comes out as gay: ‘I no longer want to hide’

Czech Republic midfielder and La Liga footballer Jakub Jankto has come out as gay.

The 27-year-old said he ‘no longer wanted’ to hide after becoming the highest-profile current male footballer to publicly come out.

‘Hi, I’m Jakub Jankto,’ the Getafe midfielder said in a video published on his Twitter page. ‘Like everybody else, I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses; I have a family, I have my friends.

‘I have a job, which I have been doing it as best as I can, for years, with seriousness, professionalism and passion.

‘Like everybody else, I also want to live my life in freedom without fear, without prejudice, without violence, but with love.

‘I am homosexual, and I no longer want to hide myself.’

In 2021, Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo became the first current top-flight male professional in the world to come out.

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A year later, Blackpool’s Jake Daniels came out as the UK’s only openly gay active male professional footballer.

Czech side Sparta Prague, who signed Jankto on loan last summer, have expressed their support of the midfielder in a statement.

‘Jakub spoke openly about his sexual orientation with the club some time ago,’ the club said.

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‘Everything else concerns his personal life. No further comments. No more questions. You have our support. Live your life, Jacob. Nothing else matters.’

Jankto started his professional career at Udinese and made 69 appearances for the Serie A side before