After two years of seeing his teammates qualify, go to and subsequently win the World Cup, Mamadou Sakho is back with the France national team, and he’s very happy to be there.
Pushed to one side after the false accusations of doping, the Crystal Palace defender has cleared the air with Didier Deschamps, and he’s now set to potentially feature in the two upcoming fixtures against Germany and Iceland.
In that time, Sakho left Liverpool, where he was also shunned by Jürgen Klopp, and signed for Crystal Palace, where he has been a mainstay (when fit) ever since.
Prior to that move, the centre-back had been fighting for Champions League qualification with both Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool, but this move brought a whole new set of challenges.
He explained to L’Equipe: “The Premier League is very attractive. It’s true that it’s not always easy to be fighting against relegation, but that’s the goal. So we roll up our sleeves, and we fight for it.
“When you play Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, the two Manchester clubs, twice a year, it shows the level of the league. But my career has shown that nothing is fixed. Today, it’s England. Tomorrow… No idea.”
Over the course of his career, the defender has won one Ligue 1, a Coupe de France and a Coupe de La Ligue, all with Paris Saint-Germain.
Never lifting a trophy with Liverpool, it seems unlikely he’ll be doing that at Crystal Palace either, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
Regardless of where he is, he’ll just roll up his sleeve and get to work, because that’s just who he is.
