Alex Rodriguez has been described as being a person who is unable to have an "intellectual conversation" by his ex-girlfriend's mother

Anne's mother Esther has now claimed she immediately knew her daughter and Alex were a "mismatch" because the sportsman struggled was only interested in baseball and would spend "10 hours a day" watching television.

The 76-year-old American journalist said: "He seemed to be genuinely in love with Anne. But I right away figured out this was a mismatch. He had no academic background. We couldn't have an intellectual conversation about anything. His main interest in life was something that none of us had ever focused on, which was baseball.

"He could park himself in front of a TV and watch baseball for 10 hours a day. He wasn't even sure he wanted to go on the yacht with Anne because the TV might not be working."

Anne and her family also struggled to spend any quality time with Alex - who has daughters Natasha, 13, and Elle, nine, with his ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis - because he would be swamped by fans when they were out in public.

Esther explained to The New York Times: "We couldn't go anywhere with him. If we went to Target to look for clothes for the kids, all of a sudden we'd be looking around and people would be saying, 'We just want a selfie with A-Rod.' He can't walk across Central Park. He has to take a cab."

But Esther thinks Alex's celebrity status will "work better" for his relationship with his new lover Jennifer Lopez - who has nine-year-old twins Emme and Maximilian with her ex-husband Marc Anthony - who she believes welcomes that type of attention.

Speaking about the star batter and the 48-year-old's singer's romance, Esther said: "That will work better with Jennifer because she's like, 'Take a picture of me anytime.' I wish J. Lo all the luck in the world."