FRENCH REVOLT Former Man Utd and Chelsea star ‘eyeing return to Premier League’ after telling French side Rennes he wants to quit

Midfielder even considering retiring if transfer exit gets blocked

Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2024 by Thesun.co.uk

NEMANJA MATIC reportedly wants to return to the Premier League - after telling Rennes he is ready to quit the club.

But he has allegedly considered RETIRING if an immediate transfer exit gets blocked.

FRENCH REVOLT Former Man Utd and Chelsea star ‘eyeing return to Premier League’ after telling French side Rennes he wants to quit
Nemanja Matic is fed up at Rennes and wants to quit immediately Credit: Getty

The former Chelsea and Manchester United star, 35, joined the Ligue 1 outfit in the summer after one season with Roma following his Old Trafford exit in 2022.

The holding midfielder is yet to score for his new side but did get three assists in six Europa League group games - and has already served two suspensions for picking up seven Ligue 1 yellow cards.

However, just six months and 13 league appearances into his spell with Rennes, it is said he has had enough.

Matic has reportedly struggled to gel with his team-mates and there are complications regarding his children's schooling.

According to L'Equipe, Matic skipped training on Tuesday and has emptied his locker in the hope of finding a new club to enable an early exit from his two-year contract until 2025.

The report adds that the Serbian is "unhappy at Rennes and pushing for an immediate departure" with it growing increasingly unlikely he will play for Rennes ever again.

And it is thought the central midfielder is keen to sign for French rivals Lyon or head back to England, with several clubs apparently interested.

L'Equipe add that successful talks have already taken place between Matic's representatives and Lyon - but if Rennes did their heels in and refuse to let him leave then he may hang up his boots and quit football for good.

Matic first joined Chelsea in 2009 but made just three first-team appearances then headed to Benfica before returning to Stamford Bridge in January 2014.

In three-and-a-half seasons with the Blues he appeared 151 times and lifted two Premier League titles.

The 48-cap international made the switch to United in 2017 but despite playing 189 times and the club reaching both the FA Cup and Europa League finals during his five seasons at Old Trafford, he could not add to his trophy cabinet.

In December he launched a frank and stinging attack on the Red Devils - and singled out Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho for particular criticism.

Matic said: "At Chelsea, players acted professionally.

"They were punctual and were never late for training but at United it happened almost every day.

"Among the players who would always be late were Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho and a couple of other players.

"The rest of us who were always on time were angry so we decided to form a kind of an internal disciplinary committee with me serving as its president.

"During one particular season, we collected around £75,000 in fines."

There was more European heartbreak for Matic last season, too, as Jose Mourinho's Roma lost to Sevilla in the Europa League final before his wretched Rennes move.