Samir Nasri has stepped down from his role as a television pundit for Arsenal's Champions League final clash with Paris Saint-Germain, citing concerns over abuse from the latter's fanbase. The 38-year-old was originally scheduled to work for French channel Canal+ during the Budapest-based showpiece on Saturday. However, a U-turn on that decision followed reports that he was abused by PSG supporters during their semi-final clash with Bayern Munich.
Nasri's Ties to Marseille and PSG Rivalry
Nasri has strong connections to Arsenal, having played 125 games for the club between 2008 and 2011. However, his bond with Marseille is the source of contention among some PSG fans. PSG and Marseille share a bitter rivalry, and Nasri came through the ranks at his boyhood club Marseille, playing 166 games over four seasons before leaving for Arsenal. Speaking to L'Equipe, the former midfielder cited his roots and personal insults towards his mother as the reason he will no longer cover the match.
"Yes, it's true. But it's part of the game as a former Marseille player to get insulted by Parisian fans… Even if I think they had other things to do, like celebrating qualifying for the final (smiles). What bothered me was that they insulted my mother... That's not why I'm not going to Budapest for the final. 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 stop doing TV and I'd stop going to matches."
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Nasri added: "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 the panel. Arsenal is also my former club, but I don't have an extraordinary relationship with its supporters."
Acrimonious Departure from Arsenal
Despite his ties to Arsenal, Nasri's absence will not be missed by many of their supporters due to the acrimonious way he left the club in August 2011 for Manchester City. Many fans believed his move was fuelled by greed, a claim he denied, insisting it was about winning silverware. Three years after his move, he reflected to The Telegraph: "This image of me being materialistic is a French thing. People were envious. It's fine. I really hesitated a long time. There was [Manchester] United. City wasn't the big club it is right now. My agent told me, 'Do you want to play in the big club, already with a big history (United), where you will be just one of them? Or play for Manchester City, who didn't win the league for 44 years, where if you win the trophy, you can make history'. I said, 'Oh, yeah, I want to make history'. In my first year, I won the league. I don't have any regrets. Yes, economically I have a better life now than what I had at Arsenal. It's normal. If I said to you tomorrow that there is another journal, as serious as your journal, offer you three times your salary, I think you are going to go there. But my first motive was to win trophies."
Nasri feels vindicated by his decision, having won the Premier League in his first season—City's first—while adding another title and the League Cup in 2013-14.
