The former France international last played for Anderlecht in 2020 and confirmed he will not be making a return to the game
Samir Nasri has confirmed he has retired from professional football at the age of 34.
Nasri has been without a club since leaving Anderlecht in 2020, having made just eight appearances for the Belgian giants before injuries cut his season short.
Since then, the former France international has been working as a pundit on television channel Canal+ and says his playing days are behind him.
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Why has Nasri retired?
The ex-Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder says the 18-month suspension he was given in 2018 for receiving an intravenous treatment at a clinic in Los Angeles played a key role in his decision to retire.
He told Le Journal du Dimanche: “An episode hurt me very badly and changed my relationship with football: my suspension. I found that more than unfair, I had not taken any doping product. It was just an injection of vitamins because I was sick. It cut me off in my tracks.
After returning from his suspension, Nasri joined West Ham on a short-term contract but played just six times before his deal expired, and he subsequently made the move to Anderlecht.
“I came back to West Ham with a coach I knew (Manuel Pellegrini). It was perfect but I got injured three times in a row,” he added.
“There, Vincent Kompany called me to come to Anderlecht. There was an emotional side to it, but also the idea of being a player and also a little in the staff. As I would like to coach, I told myself that I would learn with him. It didn’t go as planned. Then the championship was stopped because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“After that, I didn’t necessarily want to continue. No challenge has stood out to me and I couldn’t see myself coming back to France if it wasn’t to play for Marseille.”
Nasri’s career
The attacking midfielder came through Marseille’s academy and made his professional debut for the club in 2004 at the age of 17. He went on to make 166 appearances over four years for the Ligue 1 side before he was bought by Arsenal.
Nasri scored 27 times in his three seasons for the Gunners before moving to Manchester City in 2011, and went on to win two Premier League titles as well as the League Cup.
Injuries soon started to affect Nasri at City however, and limited him to just 12 Premier League matches in 2015-16. He was unable to regain his place in the team and was loaned to Sevilla the following season, where he featured 30 times.
After that, he ended joining Antalyaspor in 2017 on a two-year contract, but the deal was terminated the following January as injury problems plagued Nasri’s time in Turkey.
Weeks after leaving Turkey, he was banned for six months by UEFA for breaching anti-doping rules, which was eventually extended by a further 12 months.
Nasri earned 41 caps for France and scored five goals, with his last appearance coming in a 2-0 defeat to Ukraine in the World Cup play-offs in 2013.
