Biggest purchase in FC Nantes history in 2018, symbol of the club’s gangrene by Mogi Bayat and the Kita’s disastrous leadership, Anthony Limbombe left the Yellow House on Monday. Sounding flop on the banks of the Erdre, the Belgian had not appeared in professional competition since March 2020 and will occupy a place of choice in the Nantes chess game on the 21stand century. His departure is good news for all, after more than three and a half years of ordeal.
“I told him to choose the athlete, he chose the legal one” , also regretted to the press a few days ago about the Kanak, who had sent the winger in reserve since mid-September. It is therefore the jackpot that Waldemar Kita put on the table in the summer of 2018 (between eight and ten million euros, with bonuses) that flies away at the same time, without the yellow and green supporters never being able to understand how the former Genk man could have been the biggest investment in the history of the club† Craftsman of the title of champion of Club Brugge obtained at the end of the fiscal year 2017-2018 and at the same time crowned as Ebony Shoe, not far from the direction of the Premier League at that time, Limbombe had even celebrated his first cape with the Red Devils in March 45 minutes in a friendly against Saudi Arabia (4-0 win over Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard or Kevin De Bruyne).
From selection to storage
In the middle of this deal clearly floated the shadow of agent Mogi Bayat, unofficial sports director of the FCN and forwarder of more or less credible players from the Jupiler Pro League in the city of the Dukes of Brittany. A Bayat that lands the player in the middle of the police force in November 2018 the whirlwind of shenanigans from the Franco-Iranian businessman† An episode that will leave its mark: “In the story I was a victim, and everyone saw me as a culprithe testified, western France. After that I started playing less. Most importantly, morally, I was hit. It’s impossible to feel good. This episode changed the way people look at me, and not just in football. Even when I went to town, people talked to me about it. Everyone thought I was cheating. When I signed, I looked at what I was going to earn, the bonuses and the length of the contract. The rest I trusted too much and that is not good. Because people around me have done weird things. †
Limbombe’s final appearance in Nantes came on July 18 in a friendly defeat to Niort (1-0) as part of the Emiliano Sala Challenge in Orléans.
Three years and seven months after his arrival, the Mechelen native – not spared the sores – is leaving France at least with 38 appearances for 17 starts in all competitions with Nantes and accumulated as many yellow cards as goals scored in Ligue 1 (them). What to regret about this poor career choice, for key stakeholder: “I feel like I was just put there and it could have been somewhere else. When I signed in Bruges I felt the love of the people. In the Netherlands the team manager even showed me the city. In Nantes I had that never and that’s strange for a record transfer. I’ve never had the feeling of being part of a project.” His loan in his country, to Standard de Liège at the start of the 2019-2020 financial year, would not necessarily have been happier (a knee injury, two burglaries in Nantes and Liège around this period, and seven appearances for a goal and an assist ). But in Nantes, Limbombe mainly pulled at his spleen. “I missed a match and was insulted on Instagramhe says† We went to the stadium and if I missed a pass we would say: “Is that eight million?” Nobody prepared me for this. †
A shouter to Lyon, and that’s it
One image can be preserved, however: this phenomenal free kick at La Beaujoire for hitting Anthony Lopes and Olympique Lyonnais in the final minutes (2-1) one night in April 2019, to kick off a successful end of the season for the Canary Islands (five wins in a row including Lyon, Paris and Marseille). A pawn made special, also because the next day, Bruno Genesio announced that he would be leaving the OL bank in the following weeks† Ten months later, Limbombe will score another important goal, the last, in a solid performance on the Vélodrome lawn (1-3) when receiving a cake from Kader Bamba two weeks before his very last appearance in the competition. , just before the Covid cut).
Coiled up, spider web?⚽ Anthony Limbombe vs Lyon | †† pic.twitter.com/05OUBmYz0G
— FC Nantes (@FCNantes) June 18, 2020
When Limbombe leaves, the memories are long gone. En Limbombe – one of the club’s biggest earners, with between 82,500 and €100,000 gross per month – quietly participated the mythical Kolbeinn Sigþórsson in the pantheon of the most beautiful Nantes fiascos, since the dawn of the new millennium† Under Kombouaré, the player will not have existed. “He told me he had nothing against me, that it was just a sporting choice.”explains Limbombe† I don’t blame him. He comes here on a mission, he didn’t have time for a player like me. We wished each other the best. I was too late for the others last summer for him. † Since June 2020, Anthony Limbombe at least no longer works with Mogi Bayat† Perhaps the best lesson he learned from this Loire-Atlantique disaster.
By Jeremy Baron
