During his presentation press conference in Marseille, Quentin Merlin praised the atmosphere at the Stade Vélodrome, which made some FC Nantes supporters jump.
New recruit from Olympique de Marseille, Quentin Merlin was presented to the press this Monday, as is tradition after a transfer. And the French international hopefuls explained his choice to leave Nantes to join OM.
“I needed to get out of my comfort zone, since in Nantes, I was the darling as a player trained there. I had my family, and I needed to get out of my comfort zone to discover myself on my own, on a human level.” explains the left-back, who also wants to take a step forward in sporting terms.
No atmosphere in Nantes?
Merlin was then asked about the atmosphere at the Stade Vélodrome, which he discovered in the stands against Monaco (2-2) on Saturday evening, and his answer was relayed as follows: “I saw the big difference between Nantes and Marseille, the Vélodrome stadium is extraordinary, it makes me want to finish the KO match. »
Taken at face value, this sentence suggests that Merlin found that there was not much atmosphere in Nantes, and that he had less desire to fight for his training club. This is how many Nantes supporters understood it, who expressed their anger on social networks. It must be said that the atmosphere of La Beaujoire has been one of the rare reasons for pride and consistency for the Canaries in recent years, apart from a few happy periods on a sporting level.
In reality, Merlin was asked about the atmosphere at the Vélodrome, and the negative pressure it could cause. In his full response, he makes it clear that “Nantes has very good supporters”and replies that, for him, this type of atmosphere tends to galvanize him more than to paralyze him.
