Rémy Cabella: "Give the public all the love that they've given me"

You are now a true Stéphanois. Are you satisfied?

I’m very happy to have signed with ASSE. It was a bit of a long process but I wanted so much to stay with the club that I would have waited until August 31st if that had been necessary. I had other opportunities but, since the end of last season, I made Saint-Étienne my priority, especially with the staff that absolutely wanted me and the players who have signed with the club.

“I received thousands of messages from Stéphanois fans”

Why did you make ASSE your priority?

During the offseason, I was in constant communication with the coach who asked me to be patient. Other players and I were also messaging each other. The love from the club and the public moved me, it’s wonderful to have this feeling. I received thousands of messages from Stéphanois fans. They expressed a love for me that I can’t explain. I’m happy to be able to show them this same love by signing with ASSE and then representing ASSE on the field. The fan base here is incredible. The fans love their club, their players, you feel that during every match, during every training session. It’s truly incredible.

Have you noticed any changes to the team that you came back to yesterday?

The group still has the same state of mind. I reunited with the same teammates, the same friends with the same smiles. It’s a joy to have teammates who get along as well as they do off the field, right now we have to make that happen on the field. I think that if we had played the first half of the season like we had played the second, last year, we would have been able to finish in third or fourth place in the rankings. With the interesting recruits who have arrived, I think we’ll have a great season.

“Playing with him [Wahbi Khazri], that’s going to be huge”

Among the recruits, Wahbi Khazri is a player that you know well...

He’s a friend, I’ve known him and his family since I was very young. He has always been my adversary – and I’ve always beaten him too (he laughs). I’m very happy to reunite with him. Playing with him, that’s going to be huge.

How do you feel physically?

I’m coming back from an injury but physically, I feel well. I’ve worked with the Marseille’s team and I even played a few minutes. Everything I did was worthwhile in order to prepare myself. I might need to play two or three matches to get back to 100% but I’m very happy, time to start working now.