It could be terminal for Riyad now
set-piece drills in preparation for the match, they did so in the knowledge their master exponent had done a bunk hoping to force the club’s hand to give the green light to City’s overtures.
Eventually City lost interest after a fourth bid of about £60million was thrown back in their faces – as the Foxes lost 2-1 at Goodison – and Mahrez found himself in limbo again. He was not going to City, and let his club know exactly what he felt about it. But this time around it is different.
Fans and team-mates do not buy the argument that Leicester did not stand in the way of Danny Drinkwater and N’Golo Kante when
Chelsea came calling, so should not stop him. After Leicester’s fairy tale Premier League title win in 2016 Mahrez signed a £100,000-a-week four-year deal.
Leicester’s owners, the billionaire Thai Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and his son Aiyawatt, were not prepared to be bossed around by a footballer or swayed by City’s millions. They believe their philosophy of the Leicester ‘family’, which served them so well in the historic ride to the Premier League title in 2016, was being severely undermined and were having none of it.
The vast amount of money involved was not an issue to a family who are wealthy beyond most people’s imagination and bought Leicester for £39m eight years ago. Declarations made through third parties that Mahrez will not play or is depressed by the club’s tough stance only made it worse.
Mahrez and his advisors can be clear about one thing – they severely under-estimated what would happen by rubbing the owner up the wrong way.
No one doubts Mahrez’s brilliance. His part in the astonishing title triumph was huge and acknowledged by winning the PFA Player of the Year award. But there is no shortage of die-hard fans – and some team-mates – who will say that when Leicester slumped next season, Mahrez was often nowhere to be seen.
City fluttered their eyelashes and Mahrez was smitten. Now he must go back to his ‘wife’ for some extremely difficult conversations before he is
truly forgiven.
Mahrez was smitten with City