Malang Sarr: "Everything is in place to perform here"
He is the Club’s fourth recruit this summer! Adding depth to the Monegasque squad, which aims to be ambitious on all three fronts this season, Malang Sarr expressed his pride in joining AS Monaco, eight times champion of France, on the occasion of his presentation to the media. Speaking at the Performance Center auditorium, where he was able to carry out his first training session with his new teammates, he gave a press conference alongside Sporting Director Paul Mitchell.
Returning to France
Hello. It’s obviously special for me to come back here, because I had always played in France at OGC Nice, where I would become a professional. But since then I have been able to play abroad, and today I have been taken by the ambitious project of AS Monaco, which was presented to me by the coach and the management. What I heard pleased me and convinced me to take up this challenge, to help the club achieve its objectives in all competitions.
🆕 AS Monaco are pleased to announce the arrival of Malang Sarr. The 23-year-old central defender joins on loan from Chelsea FC for one season with an option to buy.
— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) August 10, 2022
His time at Chelsea
I discovered what was a very high level there. I first did a preseason with the team, before being loaned to FC Porto, which made me grow and taught me a lot. To have been part of this team that had been European champions was special for a young player like me. It’s quite easy to develop there, to be honest, when you have the right mentality and you have the chance to learn alongside players like Antonio Rüdiger or Thiago Silva. We took all the advice they gave to us, because they know perfectly the requirements of the very high level.
What he learned
On the footballing side of things, I was able to progress in all areas. Discovering other leagues, other ways of playing football, has been very rewarding. Tactically, in Portugal I was able to progress a lot, and broaden my skill set at the defensive level. Then in terms of my play, playing in the Premier League allowed me to harden myself physically, in addition to understanding the rhythm of playing every three days. It was a very enriching experience for me. There’s also the fact that I had always lived in Nice and this has also allowed me to mature from a personal point of view, to discover other cultures.
On the competition for places
I know a lot of players in the squad already; Youssouf, Sofiane and even Axel. And I know this team well, having seen it grow. It has had good results for two years. I will learn about my teammates a little more on a human level as the days go by. I can’t wait to start competing with them. Competition pushes us to produce high-level performances. We lift ourselves by raising our level of play, so for me this can only be positive. I’ve met the staff and the players in training, but am also impressed by the exceptional infrastructure here, which is performance-oriented. Everything is in place to succeed.
❤️🤍 𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙨𝙦𝙪𝙚!
✍️ #WelcomeMalang pic.twitter.com/Ku7hcntI4J
— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) August 10, 2022
A return to the Allianz Riviera
I will feel good in that moment. It’s a Derby, a good game to play. The fans know that I always gave everything for the club when I played there. Now I am opening a new chapter in my career at AS Monaco. I will go there trying to put on the greatest performance possible.
His preferred position
I have already had the opportunity to speak about it, but I have always been a player who thinks of the team above all. If I am to play on the left to troubleshoot occasionally, I will do so with pleasure, even if I am a central defender by trade. This is where I obviously feel the most comfortable.
