Mahrez is out of clash with Blues
RIYAD Mahrez will not feature for Leicester against City tomorrow as the fallout from his failed deadline day transfer to the Etihad rumbles on.
Foxes boss Claude Puel said he is hopeful Mahrez will return with a good attitude, but won’t play for the third game in a row.
The Algerian international hasn’t trained with Leicester since before transfer deadline day, when he went AWOL while a potential deal was being thrashed out.
In the end, Leicester and City were too far apart on price and no formal bid was tabled.
Puel said: “I think Riyad is not available for Saturday’s game.
“I hope Riyad can get his head right and come back with us and work hard.
“The best way is for him to come back and enjoy his football.
“He is a magnificent player and he enjoys his football.
“He loves his team-mates, and that’s important. He loves to touch the football but he needs to come back right. I hope he can come back with a good attitude and prepared to work, but he will need time, and time to be match-fit.
“It’s important this remains inside the club and private, not in the public.
“The most important thing for me is to keep Riyad and the club and the fans united and in a good way about this.
“It is important to keep a good feeling together through these difficulties.”
The Professional Footballers’ Association said they were ready to step in to help Leicester and Mahrez heal the rift between them. PFA chief Gordon Taylor said: “We offered our services last week to the club to try to help resolve it and I was told that they were hoping with the passage of time that it could be resolved, but I’ve not heard anything back from them since.
“We’ve got to reconcile a difficult situation.
“It’s public knowledge about City wanting to take him. It didn’t take place, and there’s a fallout, which makes it difficult. You can see the problems with both sides.”
A ‘close friend’ of the 26-year-old has been quoted saying the winger was depressed after the failed move to City.
Reports today suggest Mahrez will agree to play for Leicester for the rest of the season as long as an exit from the club can be agreed. CITY’S transfer spending is ‘good news for modern football’.
That’s the view of Paris SaintGermain manager Unai Emery, who has defended the financial power of the Blues and his own club.
Last month La Liga president Javier Tebas took another swipe at Pep Guardiola’s side after first accusing the Blues of flouting Financial Fair Play rules last year.
However, Emery believes the shift in power away from traditional European powerhouses should be embraced.
He said: “The traditional clubs see their kingdom under threat from PSG and Manchester City, who are a team with new-found financial capacity. I think this is good for football, that there are these new teams. Everyone should be grateful.
“I always remember this with Real Madrid, the signing of Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez. And Barca did it, too, paying Rivaldo’s release clause, and we are now seeing this financial capacity in France.”