He said it in his own language to someone else who speaks his language. IF it's not considered rude in his own language I can see why he may not have thought about how it would sound to them.

He doesn’t really have that excuse though. He lives in 2020, has access to the internet, plays the most globalized sport on the planet, and is around people from multiple different countries and ethnicities all the time.

If he still doesn’t understand just because something’s okay in his language or culture, that doesn’t mean it’s okay in others, he’s just a moron.

I don’t think he was trying to be racist either, but he can’t really use ignorance as an excuse when he’s a footballer in the most globalized and connected period of human history.

TL;DR: He should know better.