GQ India – August 2019

171171

On the news?
Yeah. Like everybody else. Or we’d hear, “Oh, he might
be getting so-and-so.” But like everybody else, when it’s
confirmed, that’s when I hear it.

He wouldn’t take you to one side and say, “Look, I’m
bringing in this guy, but it doesn’t mean this, it doesn’t
mean that”?
No. You get on with it. We’re here for competition and
once they come in you get to know who they are. You
understand these are nice people like yourself and it
brings the best out for the team.

What motivates you more: love of winning or fear of losing?
Winning.

Before a big game, do you lie awake at night worrying about
not winning?
The more you think about it the worse it’ll be the next
day. I don’t really think about the game until we get to
the stadium.

How does the manager deal with you when you play well
and how does he deal with you when you play badly?
To be honest, we haven’t had a lot of conversations
this year, one-on-one. In his first year he spoke to me a
lot more and, gradually, he just doesn’t say a lot to me
unless it’s in a meeting with the team.

And is that because he trusts you more now and knows you
can work it out and do it yourself?
Not work it out and do it myself, but I feel when he
needs to speak to you, he will speak to you. You’ll get
a text saying, “The gaffer wants to see you.” But it’s
not very often this season. Actually, he pulled me after
Leicester after missing the penalty, saying, “When you
came on, I needed you at 100 and you weren’t at 100,”
and asking why. I had to give my explanation.

Well, if you miss a penalty you miss a penalty.
Not just the penalty. He wasn’t happy in general. He
wanted me to come on and change the game and win the
game for us and I didn’t do that and he wasn’t happy
with it.

Is he very demanding?
Yeah. He’s demanding, but it’s good. It makes you want
to do better and – I don’t know how to explain this –
makes you want to prove to him and show him every
time you go on the field that you’re playing for your
position in his team, because of the numbers we have
and the quality we have as well.

Who are the leaders on the field?
On the pitch, we’re not a shouting team, like, “Come on,
guys.” The team is super relaxed in the dressing room, so
chilled. There’s not a lot of shouting. Vinny, of course, the
skipper, Fernandinho. But not everyone in the dressing
room is shouting. We’re more chilled and when we get
out on the pitch we do the talking.

What’s been your career low point?
Probably my first season at City, purely because I came

in excited for my move here and then it went from, “This

kid is going to be the next whatever” and before making

a mark I was written off. I was the golden boy six, seven,

eight months before that, a big money move, and it kind

of switched without even hitting a ball. Before I’ve even

done anything it’s just, “He’s not good enough.” I was

like, “What’s going on?”

Does that get to you?

At first it did because I was 19, it was my first time as

a professional football player and it’s a learning curve.

Now you can say or do what you want and I wouldn’t

take it in.

Do you think you’d ever want to play abroad?

Looking at it now it’s like, Manchester, I love it. I love

it here. This is one of the best clubs in the world and

I’m here for the long haul. But you just don’t know

what happens in the future. I’m still young and, like I

say, I am loving every minute. Ever since I was a kid,

100 per cent it’s always been a dream of mine to play

abroad somewhere. It would be nice one day to finish

training and go home and sit in your garden and eat

some dinner.

Somewhere hot?

Yeah, warm.

So we’re talking Scotland?

Yeah, I think I should do that. [Laughs]

Which other leagues do you look at and think, “They’re

really good leagues”?

I would need to see where it’s minimum 17°C or 18°C

constantly.

So we’re talking Spain? You don’t fancy Germany?

Not really – the language barrier.

You could learn it!

It sounds very difficult. Spanish sounds like... “Hola!

Raheem!” I feel that one I can definitely catch on.

[Laughs]

You could learn German.

I hear Leroy and Ilkay talking and sometimes I think

they’re having me on. I’m like, “You lot are not speaking

to each other. That’s not a language I could do.”

All of your foreign teammates speak good English.

I’ve got teammates who speak four, five, six different

languages.

You could do that. You’re a bright guy.

I just think English people are comfortable. The

language is comfortable, the country is comfortable. You

get paid well.

Can we go back to your childhood?

Yeah.

You’ve got no memories of your father at all, presumably.

Zero.