Anelka rules out move to Europe
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 10, 2012
French striker Nicolas Anelka has dismissed talks of a move back to England or elsewhere, insisting that he plans to retire in Shanghai, a local sports daily reported yesterday.
|
|
|
Nicolas Anelka in action during a Chinese Super League match. |
"I won't go back to the Premier League," Anelka told the Oriental Sports Daily. "If one day I leave Shenhua, it will be the day I retire."
Rumors had been rife that many Premier League clubs, including West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers, were trying to lure Anelka back to England, but the former French international made it clear he wasn't going anywhere.
"I will never go back, although I had a good time there. But now I'm in Shenhua and this is my own decision," Anelka said. "If one day I leave, I won't go to any other clubs but will call it a day."
The 33-year-old again failed to score as Shanghai Shenhua was held to a 2-2 by Jiangsu Sainty in Nanjing on Sunday. It dropped to 13th place in the 16-team CSL standings. Sergio Batista's team has now not won in his last four games in charge.
Anelka is hoping that the arrival of former Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba will bring in results. The Ivory Coast striker is expected to arrive on Saturday and may start in the friendly against Manchester United.
"I am waiting for him. There were a lot of games when I was alone in front, I would think if Didier was here the situation would be better. I could pass him the ball," Anelka said.
But Anelka is confident that the team will avoid the drop despite its current status.
"Although we're now at the bottom of the league, the gap with other teams is not big and we can climb up after even winning two games," Anelka said. "I am not worried about relegation. I only think if we can have a better ranking."
