Far from being the most loved player in France, Samir Nasri has convinced all of Spain he still has something to offer both on and off the pitch.
The forward, on loan at Sevilla from Manchester City, has enjoyed a strong start to the season with his new side, scoring three goals in his first eight games, quickly becoming the creative hub of Jorge Sampaoli’s side.
Even L’Equipe, who don’t exactly have a fantastic relationship with the player, acknowledge on Tuesday that they are witnessing a changed man, and went to Spain to see how the player has affected those around him.
Managers already fear him, as proven by Diego Simeone taking off Yannick Carrasco to bring on Tiago over the weekend because ‘Gabi was losing track of Samir Nasri’.
Fans love him: “He’s the heart and soul of the team”; “When he reaches 100%, he’ll be a machine”; “He’s Sevilla’s Iniesta”; “He can be the leader”.
Teammates respect him, as explained by Timothée Kolodziejczak: “He’s humble, he laughs with everyone. Samir is a great guy. You hear negative things about him in France, but I can tell you he respects everyone.
“It’s true that he has a lot of freedom, but he’s so good on the ball, he can play anywhere. Everyone has seen it since he got here, he’s a world class player”.
This freedom the centre-back talks about is down to Jorge Sampaoli, who trusts him.
L’Equipe explain that when Nasri was in talk to sign for the La Liga side, the Argentinean manager simply told him: “Not only will you be in a free role, but you’ll have the keys to the game.”
Few players have managed to turn their image around so quickly in football, as the bad stuff normally sticks to you like superglue in this world.
Nasri, however, has shown everyone that with hard work and just by being happy, things can improve in the blink of an eye.
