The French player of Real Betis club, Nabil Fekir, returned to talk about the circumstances of his choice to represent the French national team instead of the Algerian national team, and said that the failure of his transfer to Liverpool was for reasons far from what was rumored at the time about a knee injury.
Fekir was close to joining the Algerian national team during the period of former coach Christian Gorkov, before deciding to join the France team, which crowned him with the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
About that period, the 29-year-old told the British newspaper The Guardian: “It was very difficult for me. My father arrived in France a year before I was born, my mother is Algerian but she was in France much longer. I used to visit Algeria every time. Almost a year. I feel French and Algerian."
Il ya 5 ans jour pour jour, @NabilFekir disputait son 1er match en Bleu face au Brésil!
🇫🇷🙌 #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/XYgLLhbWyo
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) March 26, 2020
The player, who caught the eye and starred in the French Lyon before making his debut with the French national team in 2015, continued: "Some people do not understand that you can have dual citizenship, and you can love two countries at the same time. It was difficult for me, and I was young. A lot. "People say France, many say Algeria. In the end I chose France, but those were very difficult moments. This is life and I don't regret anything I did."
He pointed out that the first person who informed him of his decision to represent the France national team was his father, and added, "He did not want it. This is normal and I fully understand it. His whole family is there, he grew up there and his whole life is there. It hurt him a little when I chose France, but this is it In life there are decisions, and that was my decision and I take responsibility.”
Es un espectáculo 🎮👽🔥@NabilFekir pic.twitter.com/Eo1axBZMM8
— Real Betis Balompié 🌴💚 (@RealBetis) July 23, 2019
The player, who scored two goals in 25 matches with the French national team, expressed his belief in fate, and said, "Faith is important to me: everything is in God's hands, so there is no need to worry."
He referred to this by the failure of his move to Liverpool in the summer of 2018, and it was said at the time that he failed to pass the medical test due to knee problems, but he denies this and denies the accusations of his former agent Jean-Pierre Bernese that negotiations with Liverpool collapsed due to the interference of his family.
"I had a problem with my agent, that's it," Fakir said. "Things weren't clear between me and him. I don't want to go into details, but it was a problem with my agent, and I don't have a relationship with him now."
Bon anniversaire à @NabilFekir qui fête ses 26 ans !
🎉🎁 #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/sjpbqGX27p
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) July 18, 2019
"I believe in destiny, you know if I don't sign for Liverpool it's because Betis was waiting for me. It's a beautiful city with an Arab soul. It's life. I don't regret anything. I don't think about the future much. I just live every day and try to enjoy it and play." .
Nabil Fekir joined Spanish club Real Betis in the summer of 2019 from Lyon, and the attacking midfielder scored 22 goals in 118 games with the Andalusian club.