Tuesday 1 January 2019 17:54, UK
Samir Nasri says Manuel Pellegrini was the main reason he decided to join West Ham after he signed for the club on a short-term contract on New Year’s Eve.
Nasri joined the Hammers on the day an 18-month ban for a doping ban expired and is available to face Brighton in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
The 31-year-old has been training with West Ham, having been without a club since leaving Turkish side Antalyaspor in January 2018.
Nasri previously played in the Premier League with Arsenal and Manchester City, winning two titles while at the Etihad, the second of which came under Pellegrini in 2014.
"I'm really happy that West Ham and Manuel Pellegrini have given me a chance to be playing again," Nasri told West Ham TV after signing a deal with the club until the end of the season.
"I know the manager really well. We won the Premier League title together and I'm really passionate about my job.
"Pellegrini was the biggest factor for me to be joining West Ham. When you're a player, you want the manager to know your quality and want you because he's the one that is going to be playing the team, and knows your quality.
"It was really important and I'm just looking forward to it. I love his philosophy and the way he thinks about football.
"The guy is a genius. He thinks a lot about everything and he has that mentality about football, and we share the same mentality."
Nasri was handed an initial six-month ban which was later extended to 18 months but back-dated to July 2017, after he received an intravenous treatment at a Los Angeles clinic in breach of the World Anti-Doping Agency's rules.
The ban came shortly after the cancellation of his Antalyaspor contract, and Nasri admitted he thought his career may have come to an end.
"I had some really tough moments when I was really down," he added. "Mentally I'm really strong, but for maybe the first time in my life, I cried about my career because I thought it was over.
"I'm 31 years old now and I'm more mature. If it was five years ago maybe I would have some problem with it or talk too much about it.
"When you've been out for a year and you think it's over, you think completely differently after that.
"I was just looking on TV and I wasn't able to train, and in the meantime, I had a son. A lot of things have changed in my life, and for the best. I'm really happy about it. I'm just blessed.
"I'm lucky to have a second chance. Not everyone in life has a second chance and I do. I know I will give 100 per cent."
