Samir Nasri says he will be a neutral in Saturday’s Champions League final, despite having played for Arsenal and being abused by PSG fans during a recent match.
The 38-year-old retired from playing in 2020 after a career which saw him play for Marseille, Arsenal, Manchester City, Sevilla, Antalyaspor, West Ham and Anderlecht.
The 41-cap France international is now working as a pundit on French television, although he will not be at the Champions League final in Budapest this weekend.
Instead he will be working on a show in Paris for Canal+, which some thought was because he had received abuse from PSG fans during their semi-final with Bayern Munich.
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Nasri says he certainly did get a lot of stick from the PSG fans, he says because of his Marseille connection, but that is not why he won’t be in Hungary on Saturday.
Instead, he reckons it is better to have Arsenal and PSG voices rather than his own, which he says would be neutral.
‘Yes, it’s true. But it’s part of the game as a former Marseille player to get insulted by Parisian fans,’ Nasri said via L’Equipe of the abuse he got from PSG fans. ‘Even though I think they had other things to do, like celebrating qualifying for the final.
‘However, that’s not why I’m not going to Budapest for the final. It’s PSG-Arsenal, it’s better to have Robert Pires, who’s a die-hard Gunners fan, and David Ginola, who’s a die-hard PSG fan, than someone neutral, like me, on set.
‘Arsenal is also my former club, but I don’t have an extraordinary relationship with its fans.’
Nasri played 125 times for Arsenal from 2008-11 without winning a trophy, before leaving for Manchester City where he won two Premier League titles.
His departure to a rival left a sour taste in the mouths of Arsenal fans and a return to the Premier League with West Ham in 2019 didn’t help either.
On the jeers from PSG fans earlier this month, Nasri says he is unfazed by anything aimed at him, but insults to his family did annoy him.
‘What bothered me was that they insulted my mother, even though, well, you’ve qualified for the final, you celebrate with your players!’ Nasri said. ‘It’s not the first time I’ve been insulted in a stadium, and it certainly won’t be the last. And if I let it get to me, I’d quit TV and I’d quit going to matches.’
Nasri has defended his move from Arsenal to Manchester City in the past, saying he resented Gunners fans for how they treated him after his departure.
‘Manchester City were a better team – that’s why I went there. It was my ambition, not because of the money,” Nasri told Goal in 2016.
‘Whether you’re a fan or not, people should understand that if a bigger company calls you, if you’re ambitious, you’re going to go there.
‘I had so much love for this club [Arsenal] because the fans were amazing towards me. But then, after when I saw all of that [Arsenal fans’ anger towards him], I became a little hateful because I was like “Come on, why are they doing this? I haven’t done anything wrong.” So, it became this bad relationship, from love to hate.
‘It’s a bit sad because I spent three amazing years [at Arsenal]. They brought me from Marseille and Arsene Wenger was like a father figure to me; he did everything for me.’