Mahrez

[TJB-fox]

Now, I see it from another angle. People only think he's good enough because he plays for us.

What was that lad that played for Spurs, Taarabt or something. Now this fella was supposed to be the new 'greatest player' and while I'm sure he's making a decent career for himself and earning plenty of money, he was never quite in the class that people expected him to be. I think the same will happen to Mahrez if he gets his big move. He'll end up in one of those 'Whatever happened to...' articles alongside Freddy Adu!

Ludicrous comparison, Mahrez one of the best players in the prem this season against a one season wonder who barely played in the prem anyway! That's like comparing Jamie Vardy to Freddie Sears when he was at west ham

[fridoux]

i just love mahrez, a week without watching him play is more than i can take.

[HankMarvin]

Riyad Mahrez reveals Leicester stars believe they can win title as he admits he dreams of playing Barcelona in Champions League

• Leicester are two points clear at the top of the Premier League table
• The Foxes could face Barcelona in the Champions League next season
• If they do, Riyad Mahrez would fulfil a dream he has held since childhood 
• Algerian says doubters told him he was too skinny to be a footballer

 

Riyad Mahrez is aiming to fulfil a childhood dream and take on Barcelona in the Nou Camp next season.

The Leicester winger's extraordinary form has been a major factor in the Foxes' remarkable rise to the top of the Premier League table and, with 12 games of the campaign remaining, Champions League qualification is well within the Algerian's reach.

Mahrez and his team-mates currently sit 12 points clear of fifth place and two above second-placed Tottenham ahead of the run-in, and the prospect of big European nights against the likes of Barca and Real Madrid are looming ever larger on the horizon.

 

As a child, Mahrez would imagine himself running out in front of 90,000 fans in Catalonia but that dream could soon become a reality. And the winger is understandably excited by the notion.

In an interview with MOTD Magazine, he said: 'I used to dream of playing in the Nou Camp when I was younger so it’d be amazing, if we finish in the top four, to play there in the Champions League next season.

'If I had to sum up this season in one word it would be 'fantastic'. I’ve never known a season like it.'

Leicester face six of the current bottom eight during their final dozen games of the campaign, as well as making tricky trips to Manchester United, Chelsea and Watford, and Mahrez suggested that the Foxes are focused solely on completing the most unlikely of title triumphs. 

 

'We’re confident, we believe we can win it and we dream of winning it - but let's wait until there are five games to go; we’ll know more then,' he said.

Signed from French second-tier outfit Le Havre for a bargain basement £500,000, Mahrez represents one of the best-value Premier League purchases of all time after a campaign which has seen him contribute 14 goals and 10 assists to Leicester's march to the top of the table.

 

He is among the favourites to be named the division's Player of the Year and revealed his success has at least in part been fuelled by those who doubted his ability to make it as a professional footballer.

'People said I was too small to make it as a footballer,' he said.

'They said I was too skinny, I was too slow, they said everything when I was young – but now the same people are saying, Riyad, you’re too sick, you’re too good.

'I know I have quality. 

'I have scored some good goals and made some good assists but I didn’t go into the season thinking I would be PFA Player of the Year.

 

But at the end of the season, we will see if I have won.'

Mahrez's newly-found notoriety has its downside, however.

The forward now struggles to pop out to the supermarket without being spotted and mobbed by fans of his east Midlands club.

'I can go to the shops but people still recognise me, even with my hood up – so it’s difficult,' he said.

'Last year people started to recognise me but it wasn’t crazy like this year. I enjoy it. 

'They’re young and I remember when I was young as well.'

 

[Countryfox]

 

 

'Last year people started to recognise me but it wasn’t crazy like this year. I enjoy it. 

'They’re young and I remember when I was young as well.'

 

 

 

 

Not for the first time this bloody year a tear is welling up in my eye.          I just can't stop it.    

[ARM1968]

Hazard after last season was priced around £80-90 million.

Mahrez has been better this year and still has plenty of games to go.

Like I said anything under £50 million would be a joke. Even then I wouldnt sell unless he wanted to go. Gems like Mahrez are few and far between.

[AyewJoking]

one of the best value premier league purchases

[MPH]

Riyad Mahrez reveals Leicester stars believe they can win title as he admits he dreams of playing Barcelona in Champions League

• Leicester are two points clear at the top of the Premier League table
• The Foxes could face Barcelona in the Champions League next season
• If they do, Riyad Mahrez would fulfil a dream he has held since childhood 
• Algerian says doubters told him he was too skinny to be a footballer

 

Riyad Mahrez is aiming to fulfil a childhood dream and take on Barcelona in the Nou Camp next season.

The Leicester winger's extraordinary form has been a major factor in the Foxes' remarkable rise to the top of the Premier League table and, with 12 games of the campaign remaining, Champions League qualification is well within the Algerian's reach.

Mahrez and his team-mates currently sit 12 points clear of fifth place and two above second-placed Tottenham ahead of the run-in, and the prospect of big European nights against the likes of Barca and Real Madrid are looming ever larger on the horizon.

 

As a child, Mahrez would imagine himself running out in front of 90,000 fans in Catalonia but that dream could soon become a reality. And the winger is understandably excited by the notion.

In an interview with MOTD Magazine, he said: 'I used to dream of playing in the Nou Camp when I was younger so it’d be amazing, if we finish in the top four, to play there in the Champions League next season.

'If I had to sum up this season in one word it would be 'fantastic'. I’ve never known a season like it.'

Leicester face six of the current bottom eight during their final dozen games of the campaign, as well as making tricky trips to Manchester United, Chelsea and Watford, and Mahrez suggested that the Foxes are focused solely on completing the most unlikely of title triumphs. 

 

'We’re confident, we believe we can win it and we dream of winning it - but let's wait until there are five games to go; we’ll know more then,' he said.

Signed from French second-tier outfit Le Havre for a bargain basement £500,000, Mahrez represents one of the best-value Premier League purchases of all time after a campaign which has seen him contribute 14 goals and 10 assists to Leicester's march to the top of the table.

 

He is among the favourites to be named the division's Player of the Year and revealed his success has at least in part been fuelled by those who doubted his ability to make it as a professional footballer.

'People said I was too small to make it as a footballer,' he said.

'They said I was too skinny, I was too slow, they said everything when I was young – but now the same people are saying, Riyad, you’re too sick, you’re too good.

'I know I have quality. 

'I have scored some good goals and made some good assists but I didn’t go into the season thinking I would be PFA Player of the Year.

 

But at the end of the season, we will see if I have won.'

Mahrez's newly-found notoriety has its downside, however.

The forward now struggles to pop out to the supermarket without being spotted and mobbed by fans of his east Midlands club.

'I can go to the shops but people still recognise me, even with my hood up – so it’s difficult,' he said.

'Last year people started to recognise me but it wasn’t crazy like this year. I enjoy it. 

'They’re young and I remember when I was young as well.'

 

 

 

 

 

At least he talks of still being with us next season....

[Dickov22]

Enjoy him while he's here. Players like him don't come around very often!

[BrummieFOX]

Remember when people had Nuge to start ahead of him vs. Sunderland 1st game.

[filbertstreet]

Remember when people had Nuge to start ahead of him vs. Sunderland 1st game.

still think he should

[Countryfox]

still think he should

 

[Wizerud]

I like how that interview came off as him saying, sure I'd love to play at the Nou Camp next year...AGAINST Barca!

 

Good lad.

[Grewks]

Remember when people had Nuge to start ahead of him vs. Sunderland 1st game.

 

 

Remember when labelling Nuge as 'Not good enough' was met with anger.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

I take it most will have read the BBC gossip column featuring the Sun story on both Barca and Real being determined to get him this summer.

We could do with a couple of other players (Hazard for example) hitting form to take the attention elsewhere. Either that or we start a "hide Riyad" thread.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

Remember when labelling Nuge as 'Not good enough' was met with anger.

[J.Lisemore]

I take it most will have read the BBC gossip column featuring the Sun story on both Barca and Real being determined to get him this summer.

We could do with a couple of other players (Hazard for example) hitting form to take the attention elsewhere. Either that or we start a "hide Riyad" thread.

 

Real Madrid and Barca interested in him, I can believe... but for £25M? Not a prayer.  

[merlin1969]

Real Madrid and Barca interested in him, I can believe... but for £25M? Not a prayer.  

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/6956270/Real-Madrid-to-battle-Barcelona-for-25m-rated-Leicester-City-winger-Riyad-Mahrez.html

[Captain...]

The main reason people think he isn't good enough for Barca is probably because he plays for us. If he played for Man city or Arsenal and was playing for them like he has been for us this year there'd be no doubts about his quality as a top player

 

The main reason why people on here don't think he is good enough for Barcelona is because they see him week in week out and see him be bloody useless at times, (I still love him, but he can be infuriating), you look at his highlight reel against Man City and he looked the best player in the world, if you watched the actual game you would see that apart for 3 or 4 moments of brilliance he was largely a passenger

[TJB-fox]

The main reason why people on here don't think he is good enough for Barcelona is because they see him week in week out and see him be bloody useless at times, (I still love him, but he can be infuriating), you look at his highlight reel against Man City and he looked the best player in the world, if you watched the actual game you would see that apart for 3 or 4 moments of brilliance he was largely a passenger

You say that but Messi against Arsenal was largely a spectator then came alive for 3/4 vital moments to win his team the game. Obviously I'm not comparing Mahrez to Messi like some idiots on here Will probably allude to like they did previously, but that's what the top players do. Even in their off days they come up with potentially match winning actions. Mahrez was a passenger at Man City you say but he won the free kick for the first goal and scored the second!

[Captain...]

You say that but Messi against Arsenal was largely a spectator then came alive for 3/4 vital moments to win his team the game. Obviously I'm not comparing Mahrez to Messi like some idiots on here Will probably allude to like they did previously, but that's what the top players do. Even in their off days they come up with potentially match winning actions. Mahrez was a passenger at Man City you say but he won the free kick for the first goal and scored the second!

 

And maybe it is because we don't see Suarez, Messi and Neymar week in week out we think that they are amazing unplayable players for 90 minutes, I do still think Mahrez is a year away from a move to Barcelona, if he proves himself again next year in the PL and CL then there will be some serious interest, but at the moment he is like Bale was in 2011-2012 clearly very talented and capable of amazing things, but still developing his game.  Maybe that is why people want him now, because if he improves next year he will be worth so much more. Would Bale have been as good as he is without that extra year at Tottenham to launch himself onto the main stage.

 

Seeing as Neymar has just signed a new contract and Messi and Suarez don't seem to be going anywhere, it would be odd for Barca to sign him and even more odd for him to go to warm the bench.

[Babylon]

Remember when labelling Nuge as 'Not good enough' was met with anger.

Do you think he'd have contributed much less than Okazaki this year? We've seemingly accepted a non regularly scoring 10 this season, when with Nugent people never did.

 

I can see what both of them brought to the team.

 

[dylanlegend]

Real Madrid and Barca interested in him, I can believe... but for £25M? Not a prayer.

IF we have to sell at least it should be a bidding war. However, the worry is I don't think they'd be willing to pay more than 25m and when Barca come knocking it will turn his head.

We should to Barca / RM 60m or no deal. If they are not willing to pay that Riyad should stay and be told they didn't meet his asking price.

I'd rather we sold him to Man Utd who would have to pay over the odds as no one really wants to join them anymore

[Richmondfox]

IF we have to sell at least it should be a bidding war. However, the worry is I don't think they'd be willing to pay more than 25m and when Barca come knocking it will turn his head.

We should to Barca / RM 60m or no deal. If they are not willing to pay that Riyad should stay and be told they didn't meet his asking price.

I'd rather we sold him to Man Utd who would have to pay over the odds as no one really wants to join them anymore

It can turn his head all he wants but he isn't stupid so he'll know that game time will be limited.  He has over 3 years left on his contract so he has little power in the situation apart from act pissy and then not play and people will move on.  You're right about the amount.  The owners should slap a high price on him, like the Portuguese clubs and CSKA Moscow did with Musa, if they want him then meet a figure like £60m plus, if not the conversation doesn't even reach the agent/player.

 

The money that Chelsea/Barca etc have been quoted as willing to offer is a joke. 25m is nothing for a club with ambitions if we have to spend more to replace.  Chelsea are willing to spend 15m+ on a LB that doesn't play but offer 20m for a player with better stats this season than Hazard last season who is their best player.  This is all guess opinion and stories the newspapers 'believe' or 'according to sources' will happen.

 

As fans we shouldn't even be entertaining the idea of selling our best player if we want to grow and become a bigger, better club.  I'd rather he went on a free if it meant us having him at his best for the next 3 seasons.

[AyewJoking]

this is what makes me think that mahrez will sign a new contract with us for a massive pay rise obviously and a clause in that contract will be a release clause not so outrageous so a club (barcelona) can activate said release clause and be allowed to speak to mahrez.

 

when they meet him they'll obviously buy him flowers and chocolate and turn mahrez's head with tales of hide the sausage in the 25ft square jacuzzi at the barcelona training camp.

[Webbo]

this is what makes me think that mahrez will sign a new contract with us for a massive pay rise obviously and a clause in that contract will be a release clause not so outrageous so a club (barcelona) can activate said release clause and be allowed to speak to mahrez.

 

when they meet him they'll obviously buy him flowers and chocolate and turn mahrez's head with tales of hide the sausage in the 25ft square jacuzzi at the barcelona training camp.

I'd guess Mahrez was offered a deal at the same time as Vardy, the fact that Vardy's signed and Mahrez hasn't worries me a bit.

 

£25 million seems very cheap these days I'd hope for at least 40 mil