Shortly after his retirement in 2020, Jeremy Mathieu It has been in the news again, since the former French Defense in an interview with his country’s newspaper L’Equipe, He confessed what he did in order not to go to the Barcelona a failed attempt in 2014as he somehow signed with the culé club.
And it is that Jérémy was very happy with him at the time Valencia, team that arrived in June 2009, so He did not want to leave this squad, in addition to being convinced that with the Blaugranas he would only warm up the couch, So it occurred to him to make a fake contract as part of your plan to stay.
“I didn’t want to go to Barça. When he approached me (in 2014), I was captain in Valencia, I enjoyed my life there and wondered: am I going to clean the sofa in Barcelona? When I received the contract you offered me, I wrote a new contract, in which there was a salary of a level between the salary that I was receiving at the time and the salary that Barça offered me, ”he says.
I showed this fake contract to the sports director of Valencia (Francisco) Rufete and told him ‘if you give me this I will stay’, he replied ‘that shouldn’t be a problem’. We summoned the president (Amadeo Salvo), who refused. Rufete couldn’t believe it … I tore the paper and said, ‘So I’m leavingI understood they weren’t counting on me, ”he recalls.
In Barcelona, where he stayed from 2014 to 2017, he didn’t have as well as in Valencia, but he did have several games as a starter, but the injuries were very constant.
In addition, he was once blamed for deliberately scoring an own goal, as it involved a duel against Valencia. “I got one with Barça against Villarreal (2-2, March 20, 2016). In a corner I don’t see the ball coming, it bounces off my chest and goes into the goal. After that all the Spanish journalists crushed me. he had done it on purpose. “
And last but not least, decides to terminate his contract when he has not worked for a year to fulfill his stay, was released and was the Sporting de Portugal your destination club.