'I don't care' - Baningime shrugs off social media digs
In the aftermath of Hearts' hard-fought Scottish Cup win against St Mirren on Monday night, there were a few posts on social media along the lines of: "Beni Baningime just played 120 minutes, see you in 18 months."Such digs at the midfielder, who has been hampered by injuries throughout his time in Gorgie, were brought to his attention - by team-mate Ryan Fulton."It cracked me up," the infectious Congolese, who was player of the match, said."I'll be so real with you, for me, fans in this game are the best thing. Without their support, we wouldn't be where we are as footballers. "When we were playing in Covid, it was dead, let's be so real. "You want that pressure, but ultimately, for me, the opinions of people, good or bad, don't affect me."I don't look at it. I don't care. Why would you listen to random people that you don't know? I care about everyone in the world. I wish everyone the best. I really do, and I care about what everyone's going through."But ultimately, if you're not my family, and if you're not my friends, then whatever you say about me doesn't really matter."The words of Elton Kabangu must matter, then, because the pair have struck up quite the friendship.The on-loan Belgian striker's parents are also Congolese, so the duo speak in Lingala - one of the languages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo."His personality is great," Baningime, 26, added. "Me and him speak the same language - we speak Lingala at times. We're speaking our own language and everyone's just looking at us."Honestly, he's been a great addition. More than just a footballer, great friend, great personality, great character and that is what we have in this changing room."
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