FC Metz’s Benjamin Stambouli says Paris Saint-Germain’s ambition convinced him to join them from Tottenham Hotspur in 2015.
The midfielder will come up against PSG when Metz host them in the league on Saturday. Ahead of this clash, Le Républicain Lorrain spoke to the 35-year-old.
Le10 Sport have relayed his comments on his decision to leave Tottenham for PSG.
The Frenchman came up through the ranks of Montpellier’s youth system and spent four years with their first team. He left them to join the north London club in 2014.
Mauricio Pochettino was then in charge at the Premier League side. Stambouli played less than 1,500 minutes from 25 matches for Spurs but still managed to attract PSG’s interest. in 2015.
In July 2015, the Ligue 1 winners reportedly paid around £6m to Tottenham to secure the midfielder’s services. Stambouli ha said he an opportunity to continue with the English club. However, he decided to turn his back on Tottenham and join PSG.
Le10 point out PSG had several big stars including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Marco Verratti, and Edinson Cavani at the time. This was one of the reasons he left Tottenham for PSG.
“At that point, I had the choice of staying at Tottenham and other options,” he said.
“But after thinking it over, I went for it. I went to England because I consider it to be the best league in the world. By signing with PSG, I had the opportunity to join a club with the ambition to become number one in the world.”
Stambouli spent one season in Paris before being sold to Schalke in 2016.