Jankto, who plays on loan at Sparta Prague from Getafe, has become the third active high-profile footballer to come out as gay. He follows Adelaide United defender Josh Cavallo and Blackpool striker Jake Daniels.
Posting a video statement on Twitter, Jankto said: “Hi, I’m Jakub Jankto. Like everybody else I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses. I have a family, I have my friends.
“I’ve a job which I’ve been doing 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 fears, without prejudice, without violence and with love.
“I am homosexual, and I no longer want to hide myself.”
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The Prague-born ace joined the latter club in a permanent move in 2019. He moved to Spain two years later to sign for Getafe, although struggled for game time in Serie A.
Jankto joined hometown club Sparta Prague on loan last summer and has done well. He has scored once in 10 appearances, and his side are third in the Czech top-flight.
A Czech international since 2017, Jankto has played 45 times for his country, scoring four times. He started in his the Czechs’ 1-0 defeat against England in Euro 2020 Group D and played five times at the tournament as his team reached the quarter-finals.
It comes almost a year after Blackpool teenager Daniels became the UK’s only active publicly-out gay footballer. Jankto hopes that his video will encourage other gay footballers to come out publicly, should they wish to do so.
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