Loïc Badé says he’s still unhappy over his disappointing spell at Nottingham Forest and thanked Sevilla for offering him a quick escape route.
The Frenchman spent his career in his country before joining the Reds on loan from Stade Rennais in September 2022.
That season, Nottingham Forest returned to the Premier League for the first time since 1999. The English club brought in over 20 players in the summer of 2022, including the centre-back.
Cooper overlooked Badé at Nottingham Forest
The 26-year-old arrived at the City Ground on loan with a purchase option. The Premier League side didn’t even come close to even considering exercising this clause.
That’s because the defender didn’t even make a single appearance for Nottingham Forest. In fact, Steve Copper only included him in a match-day squad once in the league against Wolverhampton Wanderers in October 2022.
The manager didn’t take Loïc Badé into account for the EFL Cup, which didn’t please the player. Last year, the France international said the nightmare spell made him doubt himself.
At that time, he said: “There are a lot of doubts that creep in. What I experienced there was one of the worst situations for a player. You ask yourself: Am I still up to it? Am I not, in the end, just a fraud (laughs)? It’s a vicious circle. The less you play, the more you lose confidence. And when you do play, you’re afraid of doing badly. I was lucky to have good support.”
Monchi key to Nottingham Forest exit
Espanyol sporting director Monchi had the same role at Sevilla in January 2023 when he signed Loïc Badé on loan from the Ligue 1 side. He impressed for the La Liga side and was part of their Europa League winning squad during the 2022/23 season.
Sevilla made his stay permanent later that year and sold him to Bayer Leverkusen in 2025. He is now at the Bundesliga side and spoke to Estadio Deportivo about his time at the Spanish club.
When asked about Monchi’s importance to him during his time at Sevilla, Badé thanked the official for helping him escape from Nottingham Forest. The poor spell in England had impacted him a lot.
“Very important, because before I came to Sevilla, it was a difficult time for me. I hadn’t played a single minute in England,” he said.
“When you’re not playing, when you’re not in the squad and you’re much younger, it’s very tough. You do everything to play football: try to eat well, sleep well, do everything right, train hard and, in the end, when you don’t play, those are moments that really hurt.”
“And Monchi arrived like a saviour. Going to Sevilla was the best thing that could have happened in my situation, and, in the end, I tried to turn things around on the pitch and we were all happy.”
