Samir Nasri, now 34 and without a club since briefly playing for Vincent Kompany’s Anderlecht in 2019, has announced his retirement after a mercurial career that included two Premier League titles, 41 caps for France, an international retirement at the age of 27 and one trip to the Drip Doctors in Los Angeles.
Nasri was part of France’s polarizing "Génération 1987" alongside Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa and Jérémy Ménez. His own immense potential was made manifest after capturing the 2006-07 Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award with Marseille, and Arsenal quickly came calling in a $17.6 million transfer.
After hitting 15 goals in 46 appearances during his third season with the Gunners, Manchester City lured Nasri to the Etihad for a fee of $30.25 million. The then 24-year-old was a monster in his first campaign with City, helping the club to the 2011-12 league title and being named to the PFA Team of the Year.
At the age of 26, Nasri again had an influential season with City, appearing in 34 league games, scoring seven goals and lifting the 2013-14 title. That would represent the peak of his career.
After two seasons of diminishing returns with City, Nasri joined Sevilla on loan for the 2016-17 campaign. During LaLiga’s winter break, the 29-year-old went on holiday to Los Angeles, where Nasri received a $200 drip treatment that included 500 milliliters of hydration through sterile water with micronutrient components. This is 10 times greater than what UEFA’s anti-doping regulations allow, and Nasri was eventually hit with an 18-month ban.
What turned the story into world news was that the Drip Doctors appeared to have gotten their PhDs from, shall we say, unaccredited universities.
Nasri’s own Twitter account fired off a series of salacious tweets saying that the Drip Doctors had provided more than just hydration, and although it was clear that the footballer’s profile had been hacked, many surmised that it was actually then-girlfriend Antara Antanes who’d taken over the account to reveal Nasri’s unfaithfulness.
The couple had been together for three years but broke up around this time.
Samir Nasri and Drip Doctors: a true love story pic.twitter.com/LvEr7AFfQm
— Aaron West (@oeste) December 27, 2016
“An incident really hurt me and changed my relationship with football: my suspension,” Nasri said when revealing his retirement. “I found it more than unfair as I didn’t take any drugs. It was just an injection of vitamins because I was sick. It stopped me in my tracks.”
If it wouldn’t have been the Drip Doctors, it probably would’ve been Nasri himself. The playmaker admitted as much when revealing why he joined Sevilla in the first place.
“(Jorge) Sampaoli liked me so much that he said to me, ‘Come to our team, you can drink, go to nightclubs, do what you want and I’ll cover your back. All I ask is that you play well on the pitch on the weekend.’ In fact, one weekend I wasn’t able to play and I wanted to go home and see my family and he offered to watch my house and look after my dog.”
