Skip to content

Samir Nasri says City 'need to do something or otherwise next year it is going to be new players'

Andrew Yates / Reuters

Samir Nasri is under the impression that failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League could result in a turnover of players at the Etihad Stadium.

Speaking ahead of Manchester City's crucial Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich, in which anything less than three points will likely mean elimination for Manuel Pellegrini's side, Nasri voiced his concerns over the repercussions of yet another early exit from Europe's most prestigious club competition.

"Let's be honest, with the salary of every player and the level of those players, 90 percent of the team is world class, then not to qualify from the first round of the Champions League would be a huge blow for the club - and for us as well," Nasri said.

"The thing in the Champions League is not just the talent, it's not being a team, it's the experience as well. We need to show we are smart players and to use what happened in the last couple of years to improve. We still have a chance and we need to take it. Now is the moment."

City sit at the bottom of Group E with only two points from their opening four fixtures, and Nasri believes that a second group-stage exit in three years would be unacceptable for a club that's thrived in the Premier League.

"Sometimes people have said our team is a little bit old and for example a midfield player is in his prime at 27-31, 28-32, so I think it's the perfect age," Nasri continued. "We need to do something or otherwise next year it is going to be new players, it's going to be everything. That's how we work when you play for a big team, a big club. You have to respond and show everyone you deserve to qualify.

"We need to show hunger and ambition in every game but most important in this kind of game. In the last three years I have been here we have won the league twice and been runners-up but now we have to improve in the Champions League if we want to be a top club. It's not enough to be top in your league if you don't do anything in the Champions League. 

"With the players we have and everything, the owners gives us his trust, we have to return in the Champions League. It's the perfect scene to show we can compete with the best teams in the world."

As injury-depleted Bayern have already clinched their spot in the knockout stages, it's possible that Pep Guardiola could field a weakened side by Bayern standards, something that would inevitably help City in their quest to emerge from the group stage.

(Dap: the Guardian)

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox