Julien Faubert: "I’ll always have Real Madrid on my CV"
"Instead of being proud that a Frenchman was playing at Real Madrid, in France they spent their time criticizing me," Faubert said in an interview.
Julien Faubert will always be remembered at Real Madrid, although perhaps not for the reasons he would like. The French winger arrived at Real Madrid to everybody’s surprise on the final day of the winter 2009 transfer window on loan from West Ham and during his six-month spell at the Bernabéu he played just 60 minutes over two appearances and was caught on camera apparently dozing off on the bench during a game, something he subsequently denied: "I was just resting my eyes."
"I wasn't going to back to France"
Faubert is now 33 and has just signed for Finnish side Inter Turku. In an interview with France Football, the former Cannes and Bordeaux player said his decision to move abroad (he had a brief spell at Kilmarnock after leaving Ligue 1 in 2015) stemmed from a lack of respect shown towards him in his native country: “I wasn’t going to go back to France. If the right opportunity had come up… anyway, France wasn’t my priority, I wanted to stay abroad. I think there are too many doubts about my physical capabilities in France. Anyway, I enjoyed my time in Scotland, where I played almost every game. I was named man of the match against Celtic. I have been shown a lack of respect.”
"Faubert? Who's that?"
Faubert also railed against French clubs that had been contacted about a potential move: “When we got in touch some of them said: ‘Faubert? Who’s that?’ I’m not 17 any more. It shows a lack of respect. So I decided to go abroad rather than stay in the country I love.
The one-time France international, who now plays for Martinique, also addressed the public perception of his laissez-faire attitude. “Enough is enough. The image people have of me doesn’t reflect at all who I am. People have a completely false idea about me.”
Real Madrid
Faubert received plenty of criticism during his brief spell at Real Madrid, a lot of it from his own country, but he said he was not affected by it. “I wasn’t bothered by the bad press but the truth is I always had a lot more support in England. Instead of being proud that a Frenchman was playing at Real Madrid in France they spent their time criticizing me. I don’t think that Madrid sign players just for fun. Whatever happens, I’ll always have Real Madrid on my CV.”
