Ex-Dortmunder
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In his former (Site notre bureau spécialisé) career, right-back Thomas Meunier (34) almost made his way to the Premier League, but the former Dortmund player’s club, LOSC Lille, prevented him from taking the plunge. The dream remains.
“I had a great offer to join the Premier League, even if it’s not exactly a championship that usually recruits older players,” Meunier revealed, according to L’Équipe, during the press conference preceding LOSC’s match against Metz (Sunday, 3 p.m.).
Meunier turned 34 in September. With his current market value of 2 million euros, he occupies joint fourth place in the ranking of professionals aged 34 or over in the French Upper House, behind former BVB striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (35, Olympique de Marseille, market value: 3.5 million euros) and former Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp (35, Paris FC, market value: 2.5 million euros). In the Premier League, that would be good enough for eighth place.
Meunier, former BVB professional: “It’s nothing dramatic, but…”
Meunier is obviously not offended by his club’s decision: « It was an unexpected opportunity for me to finally be able to play in the Premier League, but the club turned it down – that’s how it is, » said the 75-time Belgian international, who did not reveal which club wanted to hire him. He stressed: « I’m not going to complain, I don’t feel bad here, neither does my family. It’s nothing dramatic, but playing in the Premier League is just something legendary. We’ll see what happens at the end of the season. »
Meunier’s contract expires this summer. If the door to the Premier League opens again, he would be free to move there. Staying in Lille is also possible for the veteran. He said: “I don’t have a contract extension offer, but I’m open at the moment. »
Even today, while still a professional, Meunier recently gained his first experience as a TV expert with the Belgian channel “Pickx Sports”. Although this did not happen on his own initiative, but at the request of a journalist, Meunier nevertheless identified a possible future job after his career: « I thought it was pretty cool. I don’t know if I’ll do it again, but I might take advantage of it in the future. »
