adminSAMIR NASRI has made a decision about his international future and dropped a strong hint that he has played his last game for France.
The Manchester City midfielder was left out of the squad for the World Cup finals in Brazil despite playing a major role in his club’s Premier League title. Nasri is not yet ready to make his decision public, saying in comments reported on skysports.com: “I made it a while ago but I will announce it when the time is right.”
It appears certain the 27-year-old will announce his international retirement. He said: “With the national team I didn’t win anything. So it’s more easy to take this decision than if we’d just won something. When you play for a big club, and you play lots of games, it’s easy to come to this decision.”
Nasri was widely criticised in France and labelled a disruptive influence after the national coach Didier Deschamps explained his controversial World Cup omission by claiming: “I built the best squad, I did not pick the 23 best French players.”
Nasri admitted the effect of such words on his family made it harder to enjoy life with Les Bleus. He has a chequered history with the national team, having also missed out on a place in the squad for the 2010 World Cup while he was banned for three matches following Euro 2012 after swearing at reporters.
“Even before the summer, during Euro 2012 I had a lot going on,” he said. “Personally, it doesn’t affect me but it affects my family. They live in France, they read the press stuff. I live in England so I’m fine with everything they say and I’m used to it but for my parents it’s really hard. I want to make them happy and the national team doesn’t make me happy.”
Nasri has represented France at every level from under-16s, making his senior debut aged 19 in 2007, and has played 41 times for the national side, scoring five goals.
He has not featured since France’s 2-0 defeat by Ukraine in the first leg of their World Cup qualification play-off in November. He was an unused substitute in the second leg, which France won 3-0 to book their place in Brazil. — The Guardian
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