Riyad Mahrez will sadly be remembered as the stroppy, striking Leicester superstar
Algerian winger has been left isolated and friendless, shunned by the sport after issues at the King Power
HE wants away, all right.
Riyad Mahrez, PFA Player of the Year when Leicester defied the odds to win the title in 2016, could not be any clearer about that.
He has done a disappearing act, refusing to turn out for the Foxes after his move to Manchester City fell through over the valuation.
Nice chap.
If Pep Guardiola truly believed Mahrez was the final piece in City’s Quadruple hunt, they would have found the money from somewhere to make it happen.
City, bankrolled from Abu Dhabi, are not short of a bob or two.
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If Pep had come through for him on deadline day, Mahrez would be lining up against Leicester at the Etihad tomorrow, working his magic down the wing.
Instead, when the numbers got too big, City walked away.
'GET HIS HEAD RIGHT' Claude Puel pleads with Riyad Mahrez to return
Mahrez, 26, has been left isolated and friendless, shunned by the sport after issues at the King Power.
He is a dirty word in football now.
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Missing the trip to Everton on January 31 was understandable given the sensitivities surrounding his transfer.
Tomorrow afternoon, two games will turn into three when Leicester travel to the Etihad to play the runaway Premier League leaders.
Mahrez does not intend to make the trip. Striking footballers, especially striking footballers earning £100,000 a week, are not a good image for the sport.
They usually get their way in the end, more trouble than they are worth when they start kicking up behind the scenes.
Dimitri Payet did it at West Ham, telling Slaven Bilic he would never pull on the claret and blue again when they blocked his return to Marseille.
He got his wish — eventually.
Mahrez, angling for a move since Leicester’s title triumph, will be staying put for now.
He will be wondering why he had to stay.
Four years ago they paid French club Le Havre £560,000 for him as they started to put together a team that would go on to win the title.
To be fair to him, he has done his bit in Leicester’s blue.
He is entitled to be miffed, especially after Danny Drinkwater (£35m) followed N’Golo Kante (£29m) down the road to Chelsea.
Islam Slimani and Ahmed Musa were both allowed to slip out of the door before the January transfer window closed.
Mahrez has done his bit for the Foxes, teeing up the title with those laser-guided through balls for Jamie Vardy to run on to.
Those 30,000 Leicester fans started to believe he was one of their own.
They are brainwashed by the hype, the promotional and marketing tools used by clubs to make them buy into the idea the likes of Mahrez grew up dreaming of play for Leicester.
They start to believe this Algerian international, who arrived in the east Midlands by way of Quimper and Le Havre, always wanted to wear one of those blue shirts.
There are posters everywhere, a bit more drive in the voice of Leicester’s PA announcer when he shouts his name before kick-off.
They are all at it.
West Ham make their new signings go through the toe-curling experience of crossing their arms to symbolise the club badge.
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The fans lap it up.
Leicester’s are missing Mahrez, wondering whether or not he will ever play for the club again now he is in self-imposed exile.
There have been some stories which claim he is depressed but the great shame is that it has come to this because the fans are being deprived of watching one of the Premier League’s best players.
Things can never be the same again, even when he finally emerges from the fog to return to first-team training.
They should have sold him, sending him on his way when a club with City’s long-term, sustainable ambition came calling.
Instead, he will be remembered as another stroppy superstar.
Poch still a winner
IN an ideal world, Mauricio Pochettino would be lifting trophies at Tottenham left, right and centre.
The poor fella certainly gets reminded about his lack of silverware often enough after three years without a trophy.
Whether Poch finally breaks the spell or not, English football should cherish this Spurs side and their stylish approach.
Poch, as principled as Pep Guardiola, is unwilling to make sacrifices. Alongside Manchester City, his team are the hottest ticket in town right now.
Poch wants the game to be played a certain way, worthy of credit in an era when the temptation is to judge managers purely on their honours list.
Don't play Ball
AMONG the dressing-room beefs for Chelsea players is Antonio Conte’s obsession with training without a ball.
He works compulsively on team shape, moving the players around the pitch to prepare for every possibility on matchday.
They put up with it in their title-winning season — but Chelsea’s dressing room has always been one of the worst when things start going wonky.
After Monday’s 4-1 defeat at Watford they are just a shadow of themselves.
Arsene Wenger, his opposite number at Wembley tomorrow, set the bar high when he won his first title in 1998.
Two more followed and he has been reminded about it ever since the Invincibles went a season unbeaten in 2003-04 to seal his last Prem crown.
Poch works to different targets. Spurs could still win the FA Cup — or even the Champions League — this season but nobody at the club is putting pressure on him to do so.
Yet with or without trophies, they are always worth watching.
Jose not so smart
JOSE MOURINHO placed great emphasis on the Munich air disaster by reflecting on the tragedy before Manchester United’s clash with Huddersfield.
So it seems odd that he turned up for the official memorial wearing a hoodie under his club blazer.
His No 2 Rui Faria wore club suit and tie, showing the right level of respect.
You also have to wonder who was behind Jesse Lingard’s ill-conceived Twitter post during the service.
Lingard was forced to apologise after one of his team tweeted from his account about playing Fifa 18 just three minutes after the 3.04pm silence.
There is no chance of that person stepping gingerly out of the shadows.