Nasri Calls Time On Playing Career At Age 34
Former France, Arsenal and Manchester City playmaker Samir Nasri has announced his retirement from professional football.
A £25m move to Manchester City saw Nasri win his first pieces of silverware in England as he helped the Citizens to two Premier League titles and one League Cup.
He had a loan spell at Sevilla in the 2016/2017 season but found himself in trouble after joining Turkish side Antalyaspor.
Nasri got involved in a doping scandal and was banned for 18-months in February 2018 by UEFA. The ban was back-dated to July 2017 and Nasri was able to join West Ham United on a short-term contract in the second half of the 2018/2019 season.
Speaking about his ordeal, which saw Nasri lose interest in football, he told Le Journal du Dimanche: "An episode hurt me very badly and changed my relationship with football: my suspension. I found that more than unfair, I had not taken any doping product. It was just an injection of vitamins because I was sick. It cut me off in my tracks.
"I came back to West Ham with a coach I knew (Manuel Pellegrini). It was perfect but I got injured three times in a row," he added.
"There, Vincent Kompany called me to come to Anderlecht. There was an emotional side to it, but also the idea of being a player and also a little in the staff. As I would like to coach, I told myself that I would learn with him. It didn't go as planned. Then the championship was stopped because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"After that, I didn't necessarily want to continue. No challenge has stood out to me and I couldn't see myself coming back to France if it wasn't to play for Marseille."
Nasri won 41 caps for the France national team, scoring five goals and played at the 2008 and 2012 European Championships.
