BY HENRY MHARA
WARRIORS midfielder Marshal Munetsi has revealed the reason behind his failure to make a move to England’s Premier League (EPL) despite reported interest from a couple of clubs.
The 25-year-old Reims midfielder has enjoyed a good spell at the French Ligue 1 club where he made 27 appearances, starting in 21 of them to help his club to a 14th finish on the log standings. This has earned him a one-year contract extension. His deal with the club expires in 2024.
Munetsi has already started in all the four league matches for the club this season.
His impressive displays last term didn’t go unnoticed and there were reports that a number of teams including former EPL clubs Sheffield United and West Brom Albion inquired about his services.
Other reports also suggested that he was the subject of a deadline day approach from Wayne Rooney-managed Derby County in January last year.
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Speaking for the first time about the approaches, Munetsi told NewsDay that indeed he received several offers which he turned down.
“There were some offers that came through, but from what we discussed with my agent he said it was not a good time to make a move. That time I had suffered from some injuries so I could not be able to move at that moment,” Munetsi said.
The former Orlando Pirates player is expected to move to a bigger league this year as his stock continues to rise.
“It is something that I always dream of, playing in the top leagues. There are some offers on the table so we will see what the future holds,” he said.
Munetsi has continued to impress for Reims so much that the club’s manager tasked him to man-mark superstar Lionel Messi when the team clashed with Paris Stain-Germain in a league encounter last week.
Messi, who was making his debut for the Paris club, was harassed by the Warriors midfielder.
Despite Reims losing the match 2-0 thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s brace, the Mabvuku-born star stood toe-to-toe with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
He also thought he had cancelled out Mbappe’s opener, only for his goal to be ruled out following a VAR intervention.
“Playing against Messi was a great experience for me, growing up watching him and winning six Ballon d’Ors … all the things that he achieved with Barcelona. It was a great opportunity for me and we tried as a team to get a positive result. We have had three draws. Playing Paris Saint Germain was a huge task for us because they have top quality players including Messi, so it was a good experience for me to learn and to see him live in person.”
Messi was on the receiving end of a couple of tough tackles from Munetsi during the match, but the two were seen exchanging some pleasantries at the final whistle.
“Yeah we spoke. It was those usual exchanges and he was just wishing me the best for the season and the usual good luck we always share after the game.”
Follow Henry on Twitter @henrymhara