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Samir Nasri announces retirement at 34

Former France international calls it a day after 16 years of club football

Picture Courtesy of : Ronnie Macdonald
Samir Nasri playing for Arsenal vs AC Milan in the Emirates Cup in 2010

Samir Nasri playing for Arsenal vs AC Milan in the Emirates Cup in 2010

The former Arsenal and Manchester City man revealed to Le Journal du Dimanche that he had retired from football since his release from Anderlecht in 2020. 


Asked why he had decided to retire, Nasri told JJD: "An episode hurt me very badly and changed my relationship with football: my suspension. (Samir Nasri was suspended for 18 months by UEFA in February 2018 for breach of anti-doping rules.) I found that more than unfair, I had not taken any doping product. It was just an injection of vitamins because I was sick. It cut me off in my tracks."

Nasri started his career as a senior professional for the club of his heart, Marseille, where he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup. his first trophy as a professional. 

 

In 2008, he joined fellow Frenchman Arsene Wenger at Arsenal and was a key part of the team that regularly competed in Europe. His first trophy in England still eluded him, however, until his move to Manchester City in 2011. 

 

Nasri won two premier league titles and a league cup during his six years at Man City, which included a year on loan at Sevilla. It was followed by signing a two-year contract for Turkish side Antalyaspor. His stay lasted only five months, after which he mutually terminated his contract with the club having scored twice in eight appearances.

 

In February 2018, Nasri was given a six-month ban from football by UEFA for breaching WADA rules. Nasri’s ban was increased by an additional twelve months in August 2018, after an appeal from UEFA’s ethics and disciplinary inspector. 

 

After the end of the ban, Nasri moved back to England and signed a short-term deal with West Ham United until the end of the 2018-19 season.

 

In July 2019, free agent Nasri signed with Belgian club Anderlecht, after which he was released by the club in 2020.

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