Darren Bent says he had the opportunity to join Paris Saint-Germain from Aston Villa.
The talkSPORT pundit told Andy Goldstein that he spoke to then-PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti about a potential move to the French capital and also revealed why he decided against the move.
Speaking on talkSPORT Drive about potential moves abroad, Bent told Goldstein: “A few opportunities came up for me but the timing was not right.
“There was one after my first season in Sunderland. Galatasaray and Fenerbahce both came in but, first season, no, that was a non-starter.
“And then a conversation came up after I went to Villa. I had that really impactful season from January onwards, scoring goals and keeping Villa up.
“PSG, Carlo Ancelotti, we had conversations. But again, I had just come to Villa.
“I was loving life there. At that time, at Villa, I absolutely loved it. I was so happy where I was.”
Bent had joined Villa in the January transfer window in 2011, scoring nine Premier League goals in 16 appearances for them.
Meanwhile, PSG had just been purchased by Qatari Sports Investments and hired Ancelotti as their manager in December of that year.
Ancelotti, though disappointed by missing out on Bent, did not waste time making an impact with the club’s new funds by signing Thiago Motta, Alex and Maxwell instead.
Bent would later play for Fulham, Brighton and Derby but revealed a younger version of himself would’ve followed in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham.
He added: “At 18 or 19, I would have loved the opportunity to play abroad.
“When you see the impact that it has had on young players, like Marcus Edwards [at Sporting] and Jadon Sancho, who moved to Borussia Dortmund and turned into a superstar.
“Then there’s Jude Bellingham, who left Birmingham for Dortmund and turned himself into an even bigger superstar.”
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By: Callum
Title: Darren Bent reveals he had conversations with Carlo Ancelotti over potential Paris Saint-Germain transfer from Aston Villa
Sourced From: talksport.com/football/1357180/paris-saint-germain-darren-bent-transfer-carlo-ancelotti-aston-villa/
Published Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2023 19:39:17 +0000
