Former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri has revealed an unexpected fact about the start of his football career. The Frenchman admitted that during his youth, he played under another person's name for two years to bypass age restrictions. This is reported by Goal.com reports.
Speaking on the K-Mel podcast, Nasri recalled that at the time, according to French Football Federation rules, children had to be at least five or six years old to register for the U6 category. To allow Samir, who was only four at the time, to take the pitch, the local club took an unconventional approach.
"I played with a fake license, I would take the pitch under another boy's name," says Nasri. The club officials gave him the documents of a local boy named Alexandre Maras who met the age requirements, and he played under that name for two seasons.
Sharing his memories from that period, Nasri noted that coaches constantly reminded him not to forget his own name. Later, the talented player joined the Olympique de Marseille academy at age 9 and successfully continued his professional career.
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