A brief round up of other early Manchester City news doing the rounds so far today – more from Micah Richards and Besiktas manager Slaven Bilic jokes about ‘strange’ job offer.
Beginning with our Academy Graduate’s continuing fall from a previous destiny, with him now out on loan with Fiorentina and out of contract in the summer, he has been speaking to the press ahead of their upcoming game with Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League.
The Telegraph have him quoted as saying about his fall out of favour at the club – hampered by the injury issues he had.
‘If we didn’t get the investment we did, I’d probably be captain now. I probably wouldn’t have left. I had a chance to go to Chelsea five years ago, and Manchester United. But I didn’t feel it was right. I always enjoyed City. They have me a chance at such a young age. I’ve been a bit unfortunate because whenever I picked up some form I got a niggling injury. With City, if you get an injury you can find yourself out of the team for months.’
A largely disappointed former defender went on to say that he has no ‘hard feelings’ towards his replacement, ‘Zaba’ because this is football and it happens and he didn’t come as a big name either in his mind, he ‘grafted his socks off and done really well’ and just gave Richards no real opportunity to try and get back in.
He also says he has no ‘hard feelings’ towards Manuel Pellegrini either, citing him as a ‘really nice guy’ and he appreciates given Zabaleta’s form it was difficult for the gaffer to give him the run he needed to find form and impress again.
He goes on to say that last year he was offered a new four year deal by the club as well, but for him it was dependent on game time and then the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for him was missing out on the Premier League medal having only made four appearances, but never in his mind being considered for any other position than right back.
‘I can play centre half, and wasn’t considered. Javi Garcia, a central midfielder, was going in at centre half. I couldn’t come to terms with it.’
So he made the decision not to sign the deal, and when he gave that answer the club put plans in place to bring in Bacary Sagna and he knew for him the door was closed on any real kind of return at the club in that moment.
Adding that Sagna is’t a bad move for the club at all, but he would still back himself to have got ahead of him in the pecking order.
‘I know how good I am as a player. I do feel it is closed now at City for me, unless Roberto Mancini got the job and wanted to bring me back in!’
The Telegraph closed their piece with Richards saying somepoint in the future he would like to return properly, but possibly not a coaching role, maybe scouting players and he urged the club to not focus on the £20-30million arrivals and end up letting somebody like James Milner go over an ‘extra year’s deal’ because a player like Milner is steady, reliable and would do anything for the club but sometimes those who come in on big money don’t ‘really care’.
Echoing, if it was about money for him he’d have signed the deal and been rich but forgotten, whatever move he makes now over the summer he wants to be first choice and play.
There are obviously more thoughts from him on this link where he questions whether it’s feasible to promote your own when a manager is instructed to get X amount of trophies in a five year window and he also talked about his England aspirations and disappointment. Citing that whilst he feels he’s the best right back we have, he knows on current form over the last two years others have been rightly ahead of him owing to their form and performances but he concedes that head coach Roy Hodgson just might not like him as a player as well.
As for Slaven Bilic, this is only a snippet but with continuing speculation about the future of Pellegrini, Bilic was asked recently if he had been contacted by the club given the rumours surrounding him.
He answered.
‘Yes, I have already received an offer from Manchester City, they said they will sell Nasri, Kompany and Toure just to get me. Ha ha! Of course there is no offer, and my ambitions like with Besiktas. The rumours that I will be taking over at Celtic or moving to England are false.’
May have just been easier to comment on the person who asked him the question?
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