Former Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina has admitted he was too individualistic during his time with the club.
Lemina spent five years at Southampton after arriving in a £17m deal from Juventus in August 2017.
He was initially a regular for the club in his first two years there but would spend most of those five years out on loan, first with Galatasaray and then Fulham.
Things got particularly difficult for him following the arrival of manager Ralph Hassehuttl in 2018, with the player ill-suited to the Austrian’s demand for a high energy, pressing team.
Ultimately, he would make just 52 appearances in total for the club, managing two goals and two assists in those and just 3795 minutes of action, a poor return for a five-year association.
And looking back, he insists part of the blame was his, as he was far too focused on himself, something which only changed after his spell in Turkey.
“When I left Juventus and arrived at Southampton, I felt that I had taken on a different dimension,” he told L’Equipe.
“I arrive with a much higher status; I feel strong. But still, on an individual level, staying focused on the fact that I am a talented player. I’m not yet thinking about what I can do to help the team.
“That changes when I move from Southampton to Galatasaray (in summer 2019). When you go to Turkey, at 25, you ask yourself if you are making the right choice.
“But in the end, it was the best experience of my career. It was there that a coach, Fatih Terim, said to me: “We know your talent, leave your personality aside, put yourself at the service of the team.”
“He put this idea in my head, and it clicked. It totally changed the player I was. Before, I thought more about dribbling or trying to break the lines with the ball. Today, that’s not what I want to do anymore.”
