“I don’t have to justify my behaviour.”
“I have kids, so I can understand the image that footballers have. They are fans of some players; I see in their eyes. They admire and try to imitate their gestures, their words, their celebrations. They love Ronaldo and Messi. Since Euro 2016, though, they have no right to pronounce the name of Ronaldo!”
“I have nothing against Ronaldo.”
“Arsenal are a special club for many French supporters. I watched them a lot, especially during the ‘Invincible’ era when they had Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Sylvain Wiltord, and Robert Pires.”
“The number of French players Arsenal have brought through is very impressive, and many of the players who arrived, especially the young ones, were unknown when they arrived to the general public.”
“After Le Havre, I became the youngest player in the first division in Reunion. I made my debut at 16. That’s how I got spotted by Nantes.”
“I think the season I had playing as a kid against men in Reunion toughened me up a lot and taught me how to cope with hits.”
“I had spent four years at Le Havre, and when they told me they weren’t keeping me, because I wasn’t good for the second division, that hit me hard.”
“I don’t close the door to anything.”
“As long as I can play at a certain level, that’s what I’ll do.”
“I feel more satisfaction – and attach greater value – to providing assists then scoring myself.”
“I’m usually a No. 10, and the thing I most enjoy is helping my team-mates and creating goal-scoring chances for them.”
“I am used to moving homes in football, and it seems to be a recurring theme in my career.”
“When I joined Lille, they had a new stadium at Marseille. It was the same, so I know how important it is to clubs when they move home.”
“Speaking to the coach has been my number-one criterion at every club I’ve played for to find out what he expects from me, how he will make me improve, and that he’ll play me.”
“When things are going well on the pitch, it is because I know I have the coach behind me.”
“West Ham was the best choice for me on the back of my best season in Ligue 1. I don’t think there was much room left for progress in Ligue 1.”
“That’s the difficulty with free-kicks, as you get one, maybe two, and that’s why it’s tough. You have to score.”
“I don’t blame Le Havre. Back then, I wasn’t an easy person to handle. I was always one of the first to mess around. So there were a lot of reasons why my adventure stopped at that point.”
“I still try to treat football as a game even if there are now other considerations at stake, especially economic ones.”
“I try to put on a show while being effective because the spectators come to be entertained by beautiful play.”
“Many players in the French squad play in the Premier League or have played in the Premier League, so I knew about the level.”
“There were times when I didn’t think I would even be at the European Championship. so to be walking off the field, having scored the winning goal in front of our home fans, just got too much for me.”
“If I’m forced to leave West Ham, it will be done according to the rules – the club will have its share of the cake.”
“I have very special memories of the West Ham fans.”
“My managers understood that when I sulk, they talk to me. It’s a way for me to be heard.”
“Not everybody has the chance to grow up on an island.”
“I think that with West Ham, it was more complicated for me. It happened naturally; there was urgency to leave West Ham.”
“Obviously, when the results aren’t going your way, it’s difficult to find too much joy in the matches.”
“When you come to a place like Old Trafford, you have to defend, and the system is in place for perfectly good reasons.”
“When I am happy on the pitch, it’s because everything is going well off it.”
“When it’s complicated at family level, that can stop you from being at ease in your job.”
“I’m living a boyhood dream.”
“Playing 4-5-1, I could have all the liberty in the world – it was complicated to express myself.”
“The level here in England is much higher than in France.”
“I played for four different clubs in France; I played for Marseille, which is one of the biggest clubs.”
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