Former Arsenal and Manchester City star Samir Nasri appeared for the “Legends of Marseille” in a charity game against a UNICEF side and attracted plenty of attention for his new avatar.
However, as he appeared for the first time in public after a long time, fans were stunned to watch Nasri out of shape.
Someone was known for his lean physique, allowing him to trickle past midfield and defence with his pace and sharp movement.
It was a bit surprising to see the man, who announced his retirement from football less than three weeks ago, obtain plenty of belly fat.
Ex-France international hasn’t been playing professional football for a year after he left Anderlecht and it came in as a surprise when he was included in this charity game “Match des Heroes”.
Didier Drogba, Robert Pires, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Marcel Desailly were in the same team as Nasri, whilst Barcelona legends Eric Abidal and Patrick Kluivert, treble-winner with Inter Milan Esteban Cambiasso were involved in the UNICEF team.
The midfielder won two Premier League titles with Manchester City under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini. He was also named French footballer of the year in 2010 when he had a breakthrough campaign at Arsenal, eventually featuring for the national side on 41 occasions, including an appearance in the 2012 Euros.
Besides Nasri, the other Frenchman making headlines for his appearance in a charity game is their president Emmanuel Macron. He featured for Varietes Club de France in a charity game on Thursday. He featured in a three-man midfield with no.3 on his back.
He was asked to take a penalty in the 10th minute of the game, with his side 1-0 down. He fired the penalty low towards, and the keeper dived right a bit too early. The game took place in the town of Poissy, located 30km away from Paris.
Macron’s team included former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, and former French footballers Marcel Desailly and Christian Karembeu. Macron’s team took on a side formed by the staff of Poissy/St-Germain-en-Laye Hospital. Macron is an avid football lover and is a supporter of Marseille and he makes an appearance for most French games in big tournaments to offer his support.
