Tearful Carli Lloyd speaks out on her ‘narcissistic’ coach James Galanis, blaming him for a 12-YEAR family rift in raw interview with Kate Abdo, who compares USA star’s experience to her marriage

Carli Lloyd has told in devastating detail how a ‘narcissistic’ personal coach at the height of her football career drove a wedge between her and her family for 12 years.

Lloyd is one of the best soccer players the United States has ever had, making 316 appearances for her country and winning two World Cups in 2015 and 2019. After retiring, she built a reputation as a tough analyst for FOX Sports.

But now, in an emotional and moving interview with CBS Sports and Kate Abdo, she has spoken about her relationship with her personal coach James Galanis – who she says brainwashed her into a 12-year rift with her family from 2008 to the nineties. pandemic.

“Nobody really knows the situation that happened,” she said, explaining how she first met Galanis. ;My father contacted this personal coach after I was fired from the national U21 team. I was ready to quit, I needed someone to help me get over that last bit I needed. This coach came in and started working with me

‘It was a bit of a family affair. My sister took care of his two children a bit, my father was the manager of my brother’s team. Then suddenly something happened to my father and him and he was out of the picture, and then my sister is out of the picture. People in my life were slowly being cut out.”

Carli Lloyd spoke courageously and in detail about the impact her ex-coach James Galanis had on her life

Lloyd said Galanis, eight, was narcissistic and contributed to a 12-year rift with her family

Lloyd courageously opened up about the impact the family rift has had on her in recent years

Her husband Brian was one of the few people at Lloyd’s side during that twelve-year period, but even he had reservations about the impact of his wife’s relationship with Galanis.

“My husband Brian, who was not my husband at the time, had some reservations about me finding out,” Lloyd said. “He didn’t have much love for him for about 10 years. But for me it was tunnel vision. If you strive for greatness and want to succeed, there are things you sacrifice.

‘I didn’t see things clearly because I was on a mission to be the best. That came at a price: I didn’t speak to my family for twelve years. From about 2008 to 2020. 2020, Covid year, a lot of things have slowed down. I had some different views with my personal coach: there was manipulation, brainwashing, just something very unhealthy.

“The way I was treated just opened my eyes to the type of person he was and is. I just found out that it wasn’t right for me in my life.

‘I can’t sit here and say he didn’t help. He helped. But it came with a price. The price of missing my family, missing weddings, my father almost had a heart attack. Those are moments that you won’t get back. He was who he always was.

‘It completely opened my eyes to a lot of things. The control, the manipulation, the brainwashing, the driving a wedge through my family – all these things I didn’t see.”

Lloyd, 41, became tearful during the interview as she explained how her pregnant sister contacted her to try to heal the relationship between the football star and her family.

“I talked to my sister for about four years,” Lloyd said. ‘She was about to give birth to her first child and she called me (Lloyd becomes visibly teary) and left a voicemail that I will never forget. She said she didn’t want her firstborn not to know her aunt.

“I kind of informed her of what was going on. 2020 happened, I had surgery and stopped training with my coach and she facilitated a little bit – my family came to my house.

Lloyd’s break with her family occurred during the height of her football career and two World Cup victories

Lloyd said her sister helped her reconnect with her parents and rebuild the relationship

Host Kate Abdo drew comparisons to Lloyd’s experiences with her own wedding

‘It was strange, it was a long time ago. My mother was extremely nervous. That was everyone. Every time we tried to get going again, I had my coach in my ear, manipulating me and saying you can’t trust your family.

‘I see how people get involved in that and take advantage of it. I was always on my guard. It worked for my career, but I wasn’t one to express myself and I had to let down that guard.

“I gave myself the grace to know that I wasn’t there, my eyes weren’t open to see it.”

It was then that Abdo himself drew parallels with her marriage. The presenter was married to German investor Ramtin Abdo in 2010. It is unclear when they divorced and Abdo has not spoken about it publicly until now.

She told Lloyd: I’ve been in that situation, I can relate to that – it takes space and distance to see the level of manipulation and control. I would say that I saw it in my marriage and that it was necessary for me to be out of there in order to make the right decisions and really process everything that was happening.

‘I think I struggled with feeling so disappointed in myself. How did I let that happen? and at such personal cost to the people I care about and love?’

Lloyd replied, “100%. I consider myself strong, I consider myself able to read people, but when someone is narcissistic and really good at manipulating, even the strongest people fall victim to it.”

Galanis has not responded to Lloyd’s claims about their collaboration.