Riyad Mahrez opens the door for a move to Ligue 1 giants

Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez is open towards the prospect of playing for Paris Saint-Germain or Marseille one day.

Mahrez has come a long way since leaving French side Le Havre for Leicester City in January 2014 for a mere €500k.

The Algeria international established himself a reputation as one of the Premier League’s finest talents upon playing a starring role in the Foxes’ unexpected league title in 2015/16, paving the way towards a €67m transfer to Manchester City in 2018.

He has since become a two-time Premier League winner and led Algeria to AFCON glory in the summer of 2019.

But while Mahrez is enjoying life as an undisputed regular in Pep Guardiola’s squad, a return to France one day with either PSG or Marseille isn’t off the table as he reaches the latter stages of his career.

Quizzed by City teammate Benjamin Mendy on the prospect of a future Ligue 1 move, the 29-year-old replied on Canal Plus: “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.

“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 made 60 appearances in Ligue 2 with Havre but has never played in the French top-flight before in his career.

🗨️ "Toi qui a toujours été un supporter de l'Olympique de Marseille depuis petit, aujourd'hui si le PSG demande à te recruter, tu dirais oui ou non ?"@Mahrez22 un jour en Ligue 1 ? La question qui tue de @benmendy23 😅😏 pic.twitter.com/9iJOkfERn2

— CANAL+ Sport (@CanalplusSport) October 24, 2020