Emmanuel Dennis has become the new darling of Club Brugge fans after his two goals helped the Belgium club claim a 2-2 draw against Real Madrid in a Champions League clash at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu and he was also on target in the last round of matches in the Belgian First Division A.

The Nigeria international has acknowledged that things were not rosy for him initially and admitted that fans were not satisfied with his performance in the Champions League group stage opener against Galatasaray.

Dennis went on to say that world class players such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have gone through bad patches in their careers.

''I received a lot of bad messages from the fans at the time. They insulted me because I had missed the ball and missed the other big chance," Dennis told Het Laatste Nieuws.

''You know what it is? There is a lot of gambling nowadays. I think that a lot of people had bet money on a victory for Club against Galatasaray ... And because they had lost their bet, they decided to express their dissatisfaction on my social media accounts.''

Dennis continued : "It was not an easy period. I was really sad, was in the pit. Even though I know the big players are experiencing this too. Bale, Cristiano, Messi, Benzema ... If they miss such opportunities, people will also be against them say stupid things. But sometimes you are good and sometimes you are bad''.

Dennis is in contention to earn his second international cap for the Super Eagles in Sunday's friendly against Brazil at the National Stadium in Singapore.

Igho Kingsley

Photo Credit : clubbrugge.be