Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji has explained why he celebrated with a Nigerian flag around his waist after helping his team lift the UEFA Champions League title for the first time.
Akanji played the entire duration of his team’s 1-0 win over Inter Milan in the summer. He started the move that led to the only goal of the game scored by Rodri. So far he has been one of the bargain signings of the Etihad outfit.
Signed for a fee of around £12m from Borrusia Dortmund, he was supposed to play the role of a back up defender to the regulars, but he took his chance and stamped his feet in the starting lineup with his versatility across the back four also a factor.
A full fledged Switzerland senior international with 49 caps, the 27 year old showed he hasn’t forgotten his Nigerian roots when he picked up a Nigerian flag thrown at him from the crowd in Istanbul while celebrating his team’s win.
He wrapped it around his waist alongside that of Switzerland, a move which he said he did to prove how attached he is to his Nigerian roots ” I feel so Nigerian. I have to do this”, he screamed at the cameras with the Nigerian flag around his waist.
Osas Mahawi
