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In an interview with AS, Robert Pires recalled his successful playing career and spoke of compatriots like Zidane, Benzema and Camavinga.
Talking to AS, former star from France Robert Pires recalled his illustrious playing career and spoke of the many French teammates who have already achieved great things at Real Madrid or who are being proposed to star in the Whites. in the future: Kylian Mbappé, Zinedine Zidane, Karim Benzema, Eduardo Camavinga …
For those of you who have lost track of you since you retired from playing in 2015, what are you doing these days?
I work as a commentator on Canal Plus France and for M6, which is another television channel in my country. I am also an ambassador for UEFA, Arsenal and LaLiga.
He hung up his boots for the first time in 2011, after his stint at Aston Villa, but came out of retirement three years later to play in India. What motivated that decision?
Because I was still hungry for more football, in fact, I still play, even if only with my friends. I didn’t want to stop, despite having retired three years earlier when I left Aston Villa. I was 40 years old, but I still felt there was something left in my legs, albeit in a lower level league like India. I had a lot of fun, I was there with some of the best players and my coach was the great Zico… From a financial point of view, it was also a very good opportunity; I will not deny it.
Between leaving Villa and going to India, didn’t you get any other offers?
None. It was a difficult situation.
What is it like to play in India?
I knew I was going to a league that was at a lower level, but I also knew that I wanted to have fun and use all my experience to help bring footballers there. It is a country of many contrasts and we lived in a kind of bubble.
Let’s go back 14 years before your move to India. A year after winning the UEFA Cup runner-up with Marseille, he came very close to signing for Real Madrid. In fact, you even posed in the club jersey. How did you end up joining Arsenal?
It was not an easy moment for me, although of course I felt lucky to be able to choose between Real Madrid, Juventus and Arsenal. I was close, very close, to signing for Real Madrid, but [Arsenal manager Arsène] Wenger called me several times, chased me hard, and finally persuaded me [to go to the Gunners].
Is it true that your family was really upset with you for not going to Madrid?
Yes. Especially my mother, who is Spanish. When I called her to tell her I was going to London, to Arsenal, she said. “You’re crazy! You don’t speak English, with the ability you have you should go to Spain [and play for Real Madrid]! “People told me that you can’t say no to Madrid, but I did.
Do you think he would have been as successful there as at Arsenal?
It is difficult to say. I spent six years at Arsenal and I was very happy there. One of the few negatives [from my time at the club] It’s that we lost the Champions League final against Barcelona in 2006.
You know Wenger well. How many times were you close to signing for Real Madrid?
A few. [Madrid president] Florentino Pérez told me that he was really impressed with the work he was doing with us at Arsenal. But, like me, he said no to Madrid … He preferred to continue with the project he had at Arsenal.
Do you think he will train again?
I do not think so. After being so successful for 20 years and a bit at Arsenal, where he won almost everything, he retired two years ago and I guess he wouldn’t want to go back to the game today.
In 2006, his move to Villarreal drew attention in Spain and across Europe. Why did you choose the Yellow Submarine?
Why not? Many people in France, including journalists, called me to ask if I had lost my mind and to ask who exactly this Villarreal team was. If I’m honest, I didn’t know much about them beforehand either; I didn’t know where they were on the map … But I never regretted the choice. We had fantastic players, a top coach [Manuel] Pellegrini, a 10 out of 10 president and a wonderful, committed fan base. I spent four years there and I really enjoyed it, because there was not the same pressure that you can find in one of the greats in Europe. Having rejected Real Madrid, signing for Villarreal gave me the opportunity to play in LaLiga.
Besides Real Madrid and Juventus, what other clubs did you take down during your career?
One from Benfica and another from [first club] Metz, who wanted to sign me again in a moment.
Let me ask you about Zinedine Zidane, who you know very well. Do you think your time at Real Madrid could be coming to an end?
I think it is incredible that there is talk of a crisis and the end of an era in which Real Madrid lost two games before the El Clásico and then tied when they died against Borussia Mönchengladbach. I know there is a lot of pressure in Madrid, but the coach and the players need a calmer climate to do their job. Just because it’s Madrid or Barcelona, they can’t always beat everyone; if that were the case, soccer would be very boring.
What do you think of Antoine Griezmann’s situation at Barcelona? Do you think he was wrong when he left Atlético de Madrid for the Camp Nou?
The problem is that, like Real Madrid, it is almost a sin to reject Barcelona. I don’t think Griezmann was wrong when he left Atlético, but since he arrived at Barça two years ago he hasn’t done well. However, Barça has not done well in general.
What did you think of what happened between Lionel Messi and Barcelona during the summer, when the Argentine sent his much-talked-about burofax telling the club that he wanted to leave?
I think in the end he made the right decision. It’s hard to see him and Barcelona going their separate ways.
Do you see Mbappé going to Real Madrid next year?
Of course. I am French, I like Paris Saint-Germain and I would like him to stay in Ligue 1, but if he wants to continue growing as a player, he should sign for Real Madrid.
There is also talk that Madrid is behind Camavinga. Do you think he has what it takes to play at the Bernabéu?
He’s only 17, uh … My opinion is that he should stay two more years at Rennes to continue developing, and then go to a top-level club like Madrid or Barça, or whichever he chooses. It is too early for him. If they can, Rennes should try to retain him.
Benzema has not been chosen for France since 2015 for the ‘Valbuena affair’. A French court ruled in his favor in 2017, but he remains in the international wilderness. Do you think it’s fair?
It is a sensitive subject, which has created and continues to generate much debate in France. I’m not really interested in what happened between him and [Mathieu] Valbuena, but given everything he has achieved and is achieving at Real Madrid, of course he deserves the call of France. He is one of the best strikers in Europe. But [France boss Didier] Deschamps has the last word.
Which team from France do you think was better: the 1998 world champion or the 2018 world champion?
The 98 team, without a doubt. Everyone knows that. It doesn’t matter if they have Griezmann, Mbappé, [Olivier] Giroud … they couldn’t score a single one past us!
Who was your soccer idol?
[Michel] Platini, of course, and I also liked Míchel a lot at Real Madrid. I had class bags. He ran with the ball very gracefully and had such skill with the ball at his feet.Who was the best player you played with?
Buffff! There are so many: Zidane, Djorkaeff, Henry, Bergkamp, Riquelme… And one of the best I have faced was Ronaldinho.
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still the top two in the men’s game, but there’s no getting around the fact that they are reaching the end of their careers. Who do you think will take care of them?
I hope they continue as long as possible and we can continue to enjoy seeing them for a while yet. Successors? I don’t know if there are. I enjoy seeing people like Mbappé and Neymar, but there is no one like Messi and Cristiano. I don’t think we’re going to see anyone like them, at least not in the short term future.
Finally, could you ask why you haven’t been training or moving to an off-field position as athletic director since your retirement?
To be honest, I never felt the calling to be a coach and I don’t have the badges you need either. But who knows if you might consider it at some point in the future. I like the idea of being a sports director better.
Thanks for talking to us, Robert.
Thank you.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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