Riyad Mahrez hints at quitting Man City one day and joining boyhood club Marseille in transfer… but rejects rivals PSG
MANCHESTER CITY star Riyad Mahrez has opened the door to one day returning to France and joining boyhood club Marseille.
The Algerian has set English football alight since arriving at Leicester in 2014 but started his career at French club Quimper before moving to Le Havre.
The winger was named PFA Player of the Year during the Foxes' historic 2016 Premier League triumph before sealing a £60million move to City.
The 29-year-old was born in the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles but opted to play for the country of his parents and helped Algeria win the African Cup of Nations back in 2019.
Mahrez was quizzed about whether he'd consider returning to the French capital with Paris Saint-Germain by his City teammate Benjamin Mendy considering he was a boyhood fan of PSG's rivals Marseille.
He told Canal Plus, as quoted by the Mail: "He's crazy, but it's true that I was a supporter of Marseille when I was little.
"Regarding PSG - it's not relevant because I'm still under contract and I'm fine in Manchester, but Paris is my city. I was born and raised in Paris. You never know.
Regarding PSG - it's not relevant because I'm still under contract and I'm fine in Manchester, but Paris is my city. I was born and raised in Paris. You never know.
Riyad Mahrez
"I could have gone to play in Marseille [in 2014-15] and I can still play in Marseille.
"You never know in life, you shouldn't close any door. I didn’t know at the time and I was fine at Leicester but they ruled that I didn’t have the required level [to play there]."
Mahrez, who remains under contract at City until 2023, was forced to hit back when French media claimed he openly courted PSG.
Quotes relayed by 'ActuFoot' alleged the winger said: "I am not closing any doors, if PSG wants me, I will think about it."
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But Mahrez rapidly took to Twitter to claim that part of his interview had been falsely translated.
He wrote on Twitter: "Never said that. The tweet you translated was false and just clickbaiting. Delete.
"That's not what I said at all. What is difficult to transcribe word for word?"