When Brice Samba decided to leave Nottingham Forest for RC Lens right after helping the Tricky Trees get promoted to the Premier League, multiple eyebrows were raised.
After all, the Ligue 1 side had just finished 7th in Ligue 1 and there wasn’t even an excuse of European football to fall back on.
Nottingham Forest fans were a bit perplexed, as were many everywhere else, but the goalkeeper, now among the France squad on a regular basis, simply doesn’t care, as he made clear in an interview with So Foot this month.
After all, the 29-year-old has had the last laugh, since he helped guide Lens to a second place in Ligue 1, meaning they will be playing the Champions League this season.
Nottingham Forest did stay up in the Premier League, but there’s no denying where Samba would rather be right now.
Asked if people understood his decision, he said: “Not really, no. I got a bit of a tongue-lashing (laughs). In England, you can’t touch the Premier League, so it was like ‘What do you mean you’d rather go to Ligue 1?’ For them, it was inconceivable, but I’m different.
“Out of 100 players, only 2% would have done what I did. I had everything I needed to stay there. I was doing well, I was adulated because I was the hero of the promotion. I have no regrets, because everything that Lens presented to me came true, and it’s also the club that has allowed me to be recognised in my country today.”
Despite a great finish to last season, Lens have had a troublesome start to the new campaign, as they have lost three of their first four games and drawn the other, leaving them currently 17th in Ligue 1.
