West Ham United fans, you will certainly remember Julien Faubert, who spent five years at the club between 2007 and 2012.
The right-back is maybe even more famous for his loan spell at Real Madrid, which took place during his time with the Hammers, but he still managed a good 121 appearances with the London side.
The former West Ham man, now retired, had a sit down with Le Figaro on Monday, where he discussed his career, including his spell at West Ham, which he certainly doesn’t regret.
The player had arrived from Bordeaux in France, in what was an expensive €9.15m deal at the time.
Faubert said: “England was my league. It always attracted me. I speak four languages fluently, but when I arrived there, it wasn’t easy, because what you learn at school, stuff like ‘Bryan is in the kitchen’, it doesn’t work. There were no French speakers there. Athleticism is very important in this league. I had to work on that too.
“My determination, my hunger and my aggression made all the difference. Apart from one season when I didn’t get on with the manager, I played around 30 matches over several years. I loved and still love this league. I had an important relationship with the West Ham fans, and I still do, because I never cheated on the pitch, and the English love that.”
After his time at West Ham, the footballer enjoyed a bit of a nomadic career, spending time in Turkey with Elazigspor, France back with Bordeaux, Scotland with Kilmarnock, Finland at FC Inter, Indonesia at Borneo FC and then back to France in 2019 for a final spell with Fréjus St Raphael.
As mentioned previously, he made 121 appearances with for the Hammers, scoring two goals and assisting another 11.
