There’s come-and-get-me pleas and then there’s this.
Footballers love using social media to hint at transfers and share cryptic messages that send the media and fans everywhere into meltdown. Normally they are pretty subtle about it, with room for all sorts of interpretation. Not in this case.
Adrien Rabiot is one of the classiest midfielders in Europe. Despite only being 23 years of age, he has impressed many with his elegant playmaking and intelligent nous in the centre of the park. In many ways he is a throwback to a more refined era.
That’s not to say he can’t hack the blood and thunder of the modern game. The French international is blessed with impressive stamina and covers plenty of ground as he supplements the attack and tracks back diligently.
🎂🎁📽 @Dugout
🇫🇷 Adrien Rabiot 2️⃣3️⃣
Joyeux anniversaire ! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/JdFffQizes
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) April 3, 2018
But his future at PSG remains in doubt. Amid fervent rumours that Barcelona are keen to add him to their midfield next season, the player has admitted that his future may lie elsewhere. When asked directly by Canal, he was non-committal:
“I don’t know. We will see. For now, I want to enjoy every moment and every trophy with my club.”
But he’s far clearer about his preferred destination. That’s because Rabiot was obsessed with Liverpool Football Club as a child and would much rather join the Reds than head to Camp Nou:
“I would love to play in the Premier League…I was very fond of Liverpool when I was young.”
On Wednesday night, as his boyhood club thrashed Manchester City 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, the Parisian ace couldn’t help but fanboy over the atmosphere in and around Anfield.
https://twitter.com/Paris1970__/status/981623502607470592
But this didn’t go down well amongst his own fans. Indeed, he was forced to delete his Instagram story – but not until Liverpool fans had spotted it and shared it in excitement. Emre Can replacement anyone?
— • (@Omzlfc) April 4, 2018
https://twitter.com/declan_corcoran/status/981827029560713216
https://twitter.com/evajones33/status/981812840288980992
* follows Adrien Rabiot * https://t.co/BHf1Ga3HH1
— Paul McHugh (@baldypaul) April 5, 2018