Oh you big egg …
That was probably what the audience thought at the charity game “Match des Heros” on Wednesday evening in Marseille when they saw ex-Arsenal and ManCity star Samir Nasri (34) on the field. Compared to his active professional time, he had put on a lot on the hips.
Photo: NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
“data-zoom-src =” https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/nasri-versucht-jens-lehman-im-tor-der-unicef-mannschaft-zu-ueberektiven-wird-aber-vorher-abgegraetscht- 1051e38c46634800b1520ced1108bcc9-77955634 / image / 3.image.jpg “/> Nasri tries to overcome Jens Lehmann (left) in the goal of the Unicef team, but is scraped off beforehandPhoto: NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
So much so that you had to look twice to see whether it was actually the filigree and wiry technician who won the championship title in England with the Skyblues in 2012 and 2014.
The strange thing: Nasri is only 34 and officially only ended his career four weeks ago! How does it go so fast? You have to know that the Frenchman (41 internationals) had been without a club for a year and played his last professional match for RSC Anderlecht almost exactly two years ago. After that, injuries set him back until he finally retired.
Nasri was one of the surprise guests in the game in which a traditional team from Olympique Marseille competed against a Unicef selection for a good cause. Both teams were peppered with former world stars.
Nasri ran for example on the side of Robert Pires, Marcel Desailly, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Didier Drogba. Eric Abidal, Esteban Cambiasso, Patrick Kluivert and Gaizka Mendieta played for the Unicef team. Jens Lehmann stood in the gate.
Foto: picture alliance/dpa
“data-zoom-src =” https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/so-habenen-ihn-die-fans-ein-deutlich-schlankerer-nasri-bei-seinem-letzt-klub-rsc-anderlecht- im-au-6324679ab45e4c7684eb8d1085c7dd8b-77955822 / image / 2.image.jpg “/> This is how the fans knew him: A significantly slimmer Nasri at his last club RSC Anderlecht in August 2019Foto: picture alliance/dpa