Gallas admits to French hope

Gunners captain keen to end is playing days back home

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 21st November 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Gallas admits to French hope

Gallas: Demands respect

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Under-fire Arsenal skipper William Gallas has admitted that he hopes to end his career back in France.

The 31-year-old left his homeland in 2001 when he joined Chelsea, but is eyeing a return.

He accepts that his playing days are drawing to a close and would like to work in familiar surroundings before hanging up his boots.

There is no suggestion that he is imminently seeking a move to a top Ligue 1 outfit, but in the aftermath of his recent allegations regarding unrest in the Arsenal dressing room he did admit to being unsure as to where his future may lie.

Happy

"It's true that I'd like to return to France for one or perhaps two seasons to finish my career," Gallas told the Evening Standard.

"But if I go it won't be to just anywhere. I'd go to a big club or nowhere at all. The choices look simple to me - it would be Marseille, Lyon, Paris St Germain or, let's not forget, Bordeaux.

"PSG are a massive club and known everywhere. I've stayed in contact with Claude Makelele and he's told me that he's pretty happy to be in Paris. He feels he's getting the respect he deserves from everyone."

While on the subject of respect, Gallas has caused another storm by revealing details of a training ground bust-up he had with a junior member of the France squad at Euro 2008.

The volatile defender has told of how he felt an unnamed youngster was disrespecting the older members of the side, and later made the culprit well aware of his opinion.

Contempt

"I was also 20-years-old once. I would never have allowed myself to speak in this tone to a footballer who was older than me," Gallas said in his autobiography.

He added: "The youngsters from the Euros seem cheeky, very sure of themselves. They think they know it all, but they don't know anything.

"Faced with his contempt, I raised my voice. The young player said: 'Lower your voice, speak less loudly'.

"I replied: 'How are you speaking to me? Who do you think you are? You are only 20-years-old. I am not your friend.

"He said: 'Me neither, I am not your friend'."