France right-back Bacary Sagna said Saturday he was hoping to revive his international career and play in the World Cup as he signed for Serie A underdogs Benevento. The former Arsenal and Manchester City defender signed a six-month deal with the option for another year with Benevento who sit bottom of the Serie A table in their first ever top-flight campaign.
Did you know…
In all, Sagna played for Arsenal for seven years, making 285 appearances before moving to Manchester City on a free transfer despite Arsene Wenger trying to get him to sign a new deal. Clearly, at that time, business was more important than the ‘heart and soul’ of a club.
He spent three years at City, making 86 appearances at an average of 80 minutes per match (85′ at Arsenal) while earning £80kpw, £30kpw more than he was making in north London. During those three years, he averaged 18 games per season in the league with just one Champions League appearance overall.
While there, he won the League Cup.
Arsenal, meanwhile, won two FA Cups in the same time.