Now an Atlético Madrid striker and France international following three successful seasons at Sevilla, Kevin Gameiro is finally getting the recognition he deserves for being a prolific goalscorer.
Seeing off André-Pierre Gignac in Didier Deschamps’ latest squad, the 29-year-old is benefitting from playing alongside teammate and compatriot Antoine Griezmann this season.
While having to share the load more than he had to at Sevilla, the striker appears to be very happy with his new club, and is reaping the benefits.
Going from 27 league starts to seven in the space of a season, Gameiro quickly realised he needed to leave if he was to continue what was already a relatively successful career (his first international cap came in 2010 during his time at Lorient).
Speaking to France Football, the player recalled how difficult that time was, and how he should have fought more.
He said: “I was too defeatist towards the choices made. I walked to the bench out of habit. When a player lives his sub life like a fatality, that’s it, he’s done.”
Asked for the reason behind this attitude, his answer was immediate: “Ibrahimovic”.
He explained: “When a player like him never wants to leave the pitch, you basically don’t have a chance of playing. I saw the difference on the pitch too. I couldn’t impose myself so that my teammates could find me as well as Zlatan did.
“With his charisma, he doesn’t really need to run to get the ball passed to him. I was lacking that, but I learnt a lot from that too…”
Too selfless for his own good at Paris, the player was quickly shipped off to Sevilla for £6m (a £3m loss) to play under Unai Emery, where he averaged around 20 goals a season in all competitions.
It might have come late in his career, but this is his chance to make a name for himself on the international stage.
In his own words: “I can always do more.”
