Samir Nasri says he is not worried about the case against Manchester City, revealing he messaged a club executive to offer his backing and insisting the titles he helped win cannot be stripped of their meaning.
Man City have vehemently denied the independent panel's guilty verdictMore Videos
The independent commission’s guilty verdict has raised a barrage of debate about the validity of the club’s major trophies. Countless ex-players, pundits and fans have voiced the opinion that City should be stripped of the honours won during the nine-year period during which the charges occurred.
One man who was in the squad for several of those victories is Nasri. The France midfielder won two Premier League titles at the Etihad Stadium - scoring a crucial final-day goal to help seal the 2014 crown - and he has now made his feelings on the matter plain.
A message of support from Nasri to Al Mubarak
Nasri revealed he has been in contact with City’s hierarchy to let them know he is behind them. In a recent appearance on French television channel Canal Plus, he gave the impression of a club still untroubled by the situation.
“No, I’m not worried,” Nasri said, as quoted by ActuFoot. “I sent a message to the chairman [Khaldoon Al Mubarak] last week specifically to offer my support, to see if everything was okay. They’re pretty confident about how it’s all going to wrap up.”
This glimpse of the mood inside the club is consistent with the picture that has been painted from the outset of this legal battle in February 2023.
Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano and the aforementioned chairman Al Mubarak have both offered a calm assessment of the verdict and appeal process, insisting that they remain confident the club will prevail.
We know we earned the titles we won, says Nasri
Nasri also voiced strong opinions about what should become of the trophies themselves. As one of the men who helped deliver them, he rejected the idea that Manchester City’s cabinet of Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup silverware could simply be erased.
“I’ve seen here and there former players talking,” he said. “On the pitch, we won those titles. They can take them away from us, but we know we earned them.”
Whatever a commission rules about the club’s finances, Nasri’s point is that the football was won on the grass, with 11 players on each side, and that no ruling will render the memories of them null and void.
A title-winner with a personal stake
Nasri joined City from Arsenal in 2011 and spent five years in Manchester, collecting Premier League winners’ medals in the 2011/12 and 2013/14 seasons, both within the 2009-2018 window the charges concern. Manuel Pellegrini also guided City to a pair of Carabao Cup crowns during Nasri’s time in England's north-west.
Should City ultimately be stripped of titles, Nasri would be among those directly affected - which makes his defiance all the more heartening to see.
Manchester City continue to deny any wrongdoing and have appealed against the verdict, insisting they hold a comprehensive body of evidence pointing to their innocence.
Nasri, like the vast majority of other past and present City players to weigh in on the matter, is trusting that the club will eventually be vindicated. Whether the appeal board agrees is another question - but City fans will nonetheless be pleased to see that a fondly remembered star remains firmly in their corner.