Why Basketball, what made you think of that sport? He may not be very good at Basketball, unless you have seen him play, which is then fair enough to use Basketball in your comment about what other sports he could be suited for. I also believe he is a footballer, I have seen it with my own eyes and everything. He may not be a very good footballer (although I don't think he is as bad as some are making out).
I think the whole new country thing has its merits, regardless of how much you earn, or how old you are. I moved to a different country, that does not speak English as a native language, at 35. There were much younger people than me who seemingly coped better than I did. Most of them were not getting paid as much as I was, so finances doesn't come into it. I was finding it OK, but there were times when my mental health was taking a hit.
I think this kind of comment is what some people see footballers, as people without human emotions. There is family, friends, food, culture to consider when discussing this. Then add that some of this is being played out in public and that can certainly add to the factors of a settling in period being longer.
Personally, I don't think he is good enough for where we want to be, but as mentioned above he is not as bad as some make out.