Former Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb has revealed how the club tried to talk him out of selecting Algeria, because they argued it would ruin his career.
DZ Foot cover comments from the midfielder made on the Kampo Media Podcast about his time at Tottenham and how they were convinced he was going to play for England at Euro 2016.
Bentaleb came through the youth ranks at Tottenham after arriving from Dunkerque’s U19 side in 2012 and was a part of the first-team squad by 2014.
He went on to make 66 appearances for the club in total, with one goal and five assists to his name, and was a regular in the 2014/15 season making 26 appearances in the Premier League, three in the league cup, and five in the Europa League.
Tottenham had big hopes for him at one point and it seems they tried to control his international debut, with Daniel Levy even getting involved to try and convince him from playing for Algeria as they believed it would ruin his career.
And part of their strategy included trying to convince him that he would be a part of Roy Hodgson’s England squad for Euro 2016.
“Choosing Algeria was a no-brainer for me,” he said.
“When the Algerian national team called me, my coach (from Tottenham) and the president, Daniel Levy, basically said: don’t choose Algeria, England coach Roy Hodgson is counting on you for Euro 2016; you’d be eligible for England.
“There was a big agent who came to talk to me, who said: don’t choose Algeria, your career won’t be the same, choose France or England instead, don’t worry.
“Personally, I honestly didn’t give a damn; for me, it was Algeria. Frankly, it was the Holy Grail to play for Algeria,” he adds with disarming sincerity. I’m proud to have made the decision to represent Algeria.”
