Riyad Mahrez reveals he originally didn't want to join Leicester | OneFootball

Riyad Mahrez has revealed that while he was playing in France at Le Havre, he had absolutely no desire to join Leicester City back in 2013.

Initially, when his agents had made him aware of the interest, he didn’t even have the desire to even look up who the club were.

However, after the Foxes continued to persist and Le Havre needed the money, Mahrez eventually took the leap so the French side could earn £400,000 for his sale.

“I grew up in France so I wanted to discover Ligue 1, it was my ambition. When my agents told me Leicester City were interested, I told myself: ‘Who are this rugby team?’

“At first, I told them I’m not going, it’s dead, what am I going to do in England? It’s not for me, it’s too physical.

“But they insist, insist, insist. Therefore, I turned my phone off during the winter break in December, telling myself: ‘They’re crazy, what do they want?’

“When I returned to training in January and I realised Leicester were still after me. When we started talking wages, etc… I immediately felt they really wanted me.

“At that point, I opened my laptop and for the first time and I Googled Leicester City. I saw the stadium, the training facilities, the infrastructures and that’s when I thought it might be worth going.

“I spoke to my mum, because, you know, parents feel these things. They have this ability.

“Then, the president of Le Havre told me they desperately wanted to sell me. The money was important for the club, so I told him okay, in that case, I’ll leave.”

Of course, the move would prove to be unbelievably profitable for Leicester City, winning the Premier League and making a Champions League quarter-final before his £60m move to Manchester City.