Nasri happy for future without France

Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri insists there are no circumstances under which he would play for France again.

The former Marseille and Arsenal player last represented his country in 2013 but drew a line under his international career after he missed out on selection for the 2014 World Cup, despite playing a key role in City’s 2013-14 Premier League title triumph.

Nasri has a chequered history with France, having also been left out of the 2010 World Cup squad before being suspended by the French Football Federation for launching an expletive-laden rant at reporters in the aftermath of France’s Euro 2012 quarter-final defeat to Spain.

Speaking to J+1 on French television channel Canal Plus, Nasri said the French national team would have no increased appeal to him in the utterly improbable event of his father displacing Didier Deschamps as head coach.

“Even if my father is coach I will not return,” he said.  “I’ve suffered with the selections – missing a World Cup destroys you a bit.

“After 2012 I wanted to stop but my father told me I had to play the World Cup.

“I tried to be good. I had a great season with my club before the 2014 World Cup. I had very good stats.

“It was not enough. No disrespect to anyone [but] when I saw the list and some of those on it…

“I’m not perfect. I have my faults, but when you’re  a great coach you manage the egos.”

With the majority of his Manchester City team-mates now away with their countries before the Premier League leaders host AFC Bournemouth on October 17, Nasri certainly sees the benefits of having gaps in his own schedule.

The 28-year-old said: “Today the seasons are more difficult and longer than before. It allows me to recharge the batteries.”

Nasri signed a five-year contract at City in 2014 but now faces a battle for his first-team place after manager Manuel Pellegrini recruited Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne for this season’s title push.

He insists he remains happy at the Etihad Stadium and rejects the prospect of a return to French football – saying he is most likely to seek a conclusion to his career in United States.

“I do not see myself returning to Ligue 1,” Nasri added. ” I love the Premier League. I like my life in England.

“I see myself going to play in the MLS, to discover something other than France.”