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Florian Thauvin gives latest interview in France – Talks Newcastle United and Alan Shearer

8 years ago
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Florian Thauvin has given his latest interview over in France, following his return to Marseille in the transfer window.

As the winger says himself, to get regular football for the remainder of this season he had no choice but to rejoin Marseille as he’d already played for both them and Newcastle already.

Florian Thauvin insists that whilst Marseille did need the money and his move to Tyneside was last minute, it was a transfer that he welcomed as it gave him his chance in the Premier League..

The winger insists that he has to be left alone to play his football without outside pressures, after a turbulent career so far and four different clubs already.

The French media have been keen to talk about the amount of criticism French players have had at Newcastle in recent times and particularly in the case of Florian Thauvin.

The player himself feels badly done to, that Alan Shearer and others made such a point of talking about him making more of an effort to look good rather than doing the business on the pitch.

The wearing of the tux and bowtie a popular talking point…

Florian Thauvin was interviewed by L’Equipe and this is part of the interview as translated by GFFN:

Why have you returned to a club where you had such a difficult two years of your career?

“Firstly, I could not have signed anywhere else other than Marseille because you can’t play for three different clubs in one season. After that, you have to live it to understand it. This is a club that is carried by its fans. I was certainly missing that adrenaline.”

Did you really want to leave Marseille last summer?

“It is true that my transfer happened at the last minute and very quickly. There was a change of manager, the club needed money. It was a good opportunity for me to discover the best league in the world.”

Did you not feel like you had been hung out to dry by the Marseille board?

“No, no.”

The beginning of your career was full of promises, the expectations are certainly stronger when it comes to you?

“I need to be left to play my football, to be left to work. I still have my entire career in front of me.”

But time is going by.

“If I manage to take the right turn now, I can reverse things. And you can still play football at a very high level after reaching 30. I must not put too much pressure on myself.”

Even after your delicate period at Newcastle…?

“I had a new experience, a new league, a new way of life. It allowed me to reflect a little on the two years that I had at Marseille, to understand certain things.”

The criticism can be even more extreme in England, like that which followed your appearance in a suit and bowtie ahead of a match?

“In England, at each home game, you need to come to the stadium in a suit. It is the tradition. But on that day, Alan Shearer violently criticised me by saying that I was making myself out to be someone that I wasn’t even though I was not the only one wearing a bowtie (ED: Chancel Mbemba wore one first)! Why me again? I would like to be left alone…”

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