Sneijder Reflects on Unhappy Stint in Ligue 1 with Nice
during a studio appearance on Ziggo Sport while analyzing the Olympique Marseille – Ajax match, former Dutch international Wesley Sneijder, 41, candidly discussed his brief and disappointing time with Olympique Nice towards the end of his career. A period he admitted he’d “rather forget.”
The conversation arose when presenter Hélène Hendriks referenced the often-derisive nickname “Farmers League“ applied to Ligue 1. Hendriks asked Sneijder for his assessment of the French league.
“I played there for six months. Not much. I was with Nice – their big rivals are Olympique Marseille. But I thought it was terrible. It was mostly about strength,” Sneijder stated, clearly indicating he doesn’t harbor fond memories of his time in France.
While acknowledging improvements in the league, with teams like Marseille and Paris Saint-germain now showcasing more attacking football, Sneijder described the Ligue 1 he experienced as heavily reliant on physicality and tactical battles. “It’s been a few years ago. And Marseille is now playing fantastic football… But when I was there, it was more based on strength and duels. Really tactical.”
Sneijder explained a notable contributing factor to his unhappiness was being deployed out of position. “That was very challenging for me. In a 4-4-2 formation I played as one of the two strikers. And I soon discovered that is not my position. And then I made the choice together with the trainer: don’t do that. Because he didn’t want to adjust his system. And I don’t play as one of those two strikers.”
The move proved to be short-lived. Sneijder played a total of 846 minutes across eight matches for Nice between August 2017 and January 2018. ”It was a short marriage. I wouldn’t know how many games I played there. I was happy that I was gone,” he emphasized.
Despite his struggles on the pitch, Sneijder did find enjoyment in his life off it. “I did enjoy the area. I lived wonderfully in Cannes. I was enjoying myself, at home,” he concluded with a smile.
