Even for a footballer this is incomprehensibly immature.
Here are some quotes made by Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri to French radio station TF1:
“People at Arsenal tried to make out that I came here for the money.
I hope they are watching me now collecting my Premier League winner’s medal.
I believe they have not won a trophy for many seasons now. If all that I was interested in was money, the easiest decision would have been to stay at Arsenal, picking up my money every week and walking into the team.
There are many people doing this right now at Arsenal. I made the hard choice to come and fight for my place at a big club, where they never settle for second best, and I have proved it correct.
I now hope the Arsenal fans can get on with their lives and forget me, they should celebrate their third-place achievement and I will focus on winning titles.”
Come on now, you have to rise above this. Football fans berate ex-players all the time, it’s part of the game, and it’s also one of those evils that players have to accept as a trade-off for their exaggerated wages.
Maybe everybody was wrong, maybe financial reward had nothing to do with his decision to leave Arsenal, but comments like this make the Frenchman sound particularly childish. If Arsenal are such an afterthought to him now, then he should ignore that line of questioning – he’s a Manchester City player, and a title-winner, Arsenal shouldn’t even be factoring into his thought process. All this has done is stir up the hostility in the situation.
Not very smart at all.
I know, I know, you’re a professional athlete, therefore you believe that you can say and do whatever you want all the time, but at some point common sense has to prevail. And the comment about the Arsenal player ‘picking up money and walking into the team’? Be a man about it – if you’re going make those kind of accusations, then name names and face the consequences.
Careful young Samir, supposedly Eden Hazard has his eyes on your place in that City team…
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Congrats Nasri! But you need to be honest with yourself about the money yes City won the league with money that they cant raise on their own(Cheating) Yes Arsenal came third a position better without you, you won a medal congrats but be real I wonder how many ex girlfriends you have that you still think and talk about (seems you cant get over your past let it go)Enjoy your medal and money but grow up. Again congrats
When Nasri left he had no way of knowing that City would win EPL; when Man City left Emirates, beaten and 8 points behind Utd he had know way of knowing that City would win the EPL; when City were 1-2 down in the 92 minute of final game and needing 2 goals to win, he had no way of knowing that Man City would win the EPL. All that is to say he indeed left Arsenal for the money – would he have gone for £20,000 per week LESS than he was getting at Arsenal? hmmm – think not.
But you are right, we all need to move on; let Man City enjoy their success and let Arsenal enjoy theirs (yes; considering everything, to be the ‘best of the rest’ after the Manchester clubs is some kind of success)