When Albert Pujols' ex-wife shared the emotional toll of Cardinals fans' outrage over the former first baseman's LA Angels contract

In 2011, Albert Pujols' wife Diedre opened up about the backlash that the former St. Louis Cardinals slugger faced from MLB fans over his contract with the LA Angels.

In an interview with ESPN, Pujols' wife explained how they were ready to compromise on a contract that offered less money so that they could stay back with the St. Louis Cardinals, but they had to change their decision when they saw that the offer that the team had put forth was only a five-year deal.

Deidre Pujols said:

"Albert has never lied. People are like 'Oh, we thought we knew who he was.' Well, we thought we knew who they were"

She added:

"When you have somebody say 'We want you to be a Cardinal for life' and only offer you a five-year deal, it kind of confused us...Well, we got over that insult and felt like Albert had given so much of himself to baseball and into the community ... we didn't want to go through this again."

The couple were hoping for atleast a 10-year contract from the Cardinals side and were highly disappointed and even felt insulted when they were only offered a five-year one. The moment they heard of the Cardinals' initial offer of five years and $130 million, they decided to switch to L.A.

Therefore Albert Pujols decided to sign a 10-year, $254 million contract with the L.A. Angels. The deal had no deferred money. He also signed a 10-year personal services contract thereafter. What the Cardinals had offered Pujols last was a 10 years and $210 million with $30 million deal.

Albert Pujols and his wife were not ready to deal with all the hate that they received from the fans in the city of St. Louis, and felt "deceived". While Diedre Pujols understood their frustration, she didn't think it was justified given what the team did to them.

Albert Pujols' awards and accolades in MLB

St. Louis Cardinals v Los Angeles Dodgers LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 23 (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Albert Pujols made his MLB debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001 and played with them till 2011. He has also played for the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers.

He has bagged the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 2005, 2008 and 2009, and has been an All-Star Awardee 11 times (2001, 2003-10, 2015, 2022. He won the Silver Slugger award twice. He also won two Gold Glove awards at first base.

Albert Pujols put an end to his MLB career with one final season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022.

"It feels great to be back home" - Pujols posted on Instagram.