The Spaniard has bizarrely suggested that he first came up with a story made famous by Suzanne Collins and turned into Hollywood blockbusters
Javi Martinez is a World Cup champion and multiple Bundesliga title winner, but the Bayern Munich man also claims to have come up with the concept for ‘The Hunger Games’.
Suzanne Collins is the published author of a series of books which have been turned into Hollywood blockbusters.
The first instalment of her trilogy was released in 2008, with subsequent offerings hitting the shelves in 2009 and 2010.
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‘The Hunger Games’ focuses on a futuristic world in which the inhabitants of impoverished ‘districts’ fight for survival in a compulsory televised battle royale.
By the time the books became movies in 2012, over 26 million copies had been sold.
Bayern star Martinez claims he missed out on a piece of that profit come up with a similar idea in his youth.
The 30-year-old Spain international told German magazine Socrates : “Writing is a great pleasure for me, even as a teenager I started to write a book.
“And believe it or not, the plot was pretty much the same as ‘The Hunger Games’.”
When Collins’ version of events hit the big screen, Martinez admits he found it difficult to watch.
He added: “That was strange, I was sitting in the cinema and thought: ‘It does not exist, that’s my idea, which I had years ago, the creators must have stolen my computer’.”
While he may have missed an opportunity when it comes to ‘The Hunger Games’ franchise, Martinez remains eager to put his thoughts down on paper.
He continues to take great pleasure from writing and is grateful to be in the privileged position of being able to offer others an insight into the world of professional football.
“I am very pleased. I love to write,” he said.
“The idea of bringing readers closer to the life of a footballer from a very personal perspective fascinates me.
“There are many things that outsiders cannot understand or know.
“I want to give them insights that would otherwise be withheld from them.”
While he works on such projects away from the field, Bayern Martinez are looking to chase down more major honours on it.
They sit seven points adrift of leaders Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga at but have time to bridge that gap while also pursuing Champions League glory – with Liverpool set to provide their next European opposition in the round of 16 .