Islam Slimani is still to make his official debut for Leicester City, and the striker can’t hide that part of his heart is still at Sporting.
The Portuguese club are playing Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu tomorrow for the Champions League, and among the pre-match interviews, Record managed a chat with the Algerian player.
“I think Sporting will get a good result. I believe the team has much quality”, Slimani told Record. Then he sent a message to his former teammates: “You have quality to win in Madrid. My heart will always be with Sporting. I’ll certainly be supporting!”
The striker says he’s cheering for his substitute, the Dutchman Bas Dost, who already scored for the club: “I hope Bas Dost can score in Madrid.
“I hope they achieve a good result, because, as I said, Sporting have the quality for it.”
He also talked about his former manager Jorge Jesus, explaining his importance in the player’s final year at Sporting: “I want to thank Jorge Jesus for everything he did for me. I’ve learned a lot with him and he helped me to be the player I am today. I want to tell him: “Thank you very much”.
Speaking about the Portuguese league, Slimani is confident Sporting will win the title and says he wants to party with his ex-teammates when it happens: “I hope Sporting can be the champion, it’s a desire from my heart. I want to go to Lisbon to celebrate with the team.”
Slimani left Sporting for Leicester on a €30m deal. He’s expected to make his debut for the Foxes against Club Brugge tomorrow.
